VOID Activities Archives

Time to Act !

Dear VOID Supporters,

Thank you all for the remarkable growth in Vote Out Incumbents Democracy (VOID) with the help of your support and encouragement.

Many great things are happening and I am very pleased to share them with you.

We have some fantastic new volunteers I want to mention. Zeb Pike and Dennis Sherrard have joined as writers for our web site. Kari Holtz has undertaken the management of one of our first state VOID chapters for Kentucky. And our Indiana site is also on line. (see menu above)

Continue reading "Time to Act !" »

Posted by David R. Remer at 3:50 AM| Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

November's elections - Just the beginning!

VOID is growing, and my confidence in its future is growing as well.

First, I want to thank Zeb Pike for joining our volunteers. Zeb will be gathering anti-incumbent news related items to write up for our column on the right. Many thanks, Zeb. Thanks also to our other volunteers who have recently joined us and are helping grow VOID's usefulness and support base.

Being a new organization formed just this year, and dependent upon memberships and individual contributions for funding, VOID's impact on this November's elections is nowhere near what it will be in 2008 and beyond, as we reach millions of voters with our goal and mission.

Continue reading "November's elections - Just the beginning!" »

Posted by David R. Remer at 8:46 AM| Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

Our Appreciation

I want to publicly express our deep appreciation to Dennis Sherrard and Steve Smith who are volunteering their time toward VOID tasks. Dennis is writing about anti-incumbent news each week, and Steve Smith is coordinating the updates of our incumbents and challenger's lists. Thank you very much gentlemen.

Stephanie Crist is working on designing a voter education packet which will be created over the next year for the 2008 races. Many, many thanks Stephanie.

Daniel Summars continues to spread the VOID message out on the internet on various political websites and in discussion groups. Many thanks Daniel.

And thank you to all our supporters who have ordered their VOTE OUT INCUMBENTS window/bumper stickers. We are half way to reaching our fundraising goal on this project.

I am still wrestling with the writing of a short book about VOID, its mission, and promise for better politics and governance. Who knew it would be so time consuming. I sure didn't.

Onward toward a better America for us and our children to follow.

Posted by David R. Remer at 3:40 PM| Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

Call for VOID writers

I have been blogging for a couple years now. I am currently writing for WatchBlog.com, VOID, BlogCritics, Poliwatch, and just received an invitation to discuss writing for Zimbio.com. Growing demands on my time mean VOID needs at least two additional writers interested in gaining professional exposure for their writing on the VOID web site. This is a volunteer position, but, you will have an editor working with you and assisting your growth in the tools and techniques for effective, high quality writing for e-media. See below for requirements.

Continue reading "Call for VOID writers" »

Posted by David R. Remer at 3:55 PM| Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

VOID: World Attention

What do folks in Bejing, China - Dublin, Ireland - the Phillipines - New S. Wales, Australia - Serbia and Montenegro - India - Virgin Islands - Hawaii - and all across the continental U.S. have in common? They all visited our Vote Out Incumbents Democracy site in the last 72 hours.

It is the oldest of concepts within the idea of democracy, that voters have the power to vote out government leaders who fail to solve the people's national problems. Yet, the attention and the spread of the VOID message would indicate that this old concept is being received as if it were brand new and powerfully innovative.

Continue reading "VOID: World Attention" »

Posted by David R. Remer at 6:17 AM| Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

Window / Bumper Stickers

Our window / bumper stickers have arrived. And they look great. They are trasparent with bold white lettering. See photo below.

VOID Members will receive one free in coming days.

Others may order them at this link. $3.00 each and 75 cents S&H per lot of 5 or less. Order yours today. The look great, they attach to your bumper or exterior window. They are easily removable without a mess. Dimensions are 3.75" x 7.5" and very legible at 30 to 50 feet. Vote Out Incumbents. Let 'em know where you stand.

Our thanks to Dennis Sherrard and David Remer who donated the $290 to order these.

Posted by David R. Remer at 11:36 AM| Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

Car Signs

A number of our supporters responded, overwhelmingly indicating their preference for removable car signs as opposed to permanent adhesive bumper stickers. After researching the matter, it turned out that static cling signs don't do well in outdoor climates and don't adhere well in temperature or humidity changing environments. However, we found window signs with a removable adhesive which allows the signs to be removed from the glass without leaving a mess on the glass.

We also discovered that interior window signs don't read well through tinted film car windows. Therefore, I decided to order White lettering on a transparent background removable signs which adhere to the exterior of car windows with a life span of two years. This will make applying, and removing them if need be, easy since you are working with the exterior glass with lots of elbow room as opposed to interior glass where space is cramped.

In order to keep the order within the $200 budget, it was necessary to eliminate 2 color printing and artwork. If however, these signs generate revenue for VOID, we can order multi-color signs with art work upon reorder. My thanks to all our supporters who responded to the inquiry regarding their preference.

I am putting the order in today. Below is how it will read: (remember it will be white letters on transparent background)

Posted by David R. Remer at 9:37 AM| Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

Advertising VOID

VOID now has ads running in Google's AdWords program, and on the famous all-partisan political debate site, WatchBlog. These were paid for by in-kind donations for these specific purposes by VOID's President.

Posted by David R. Remer at 11:22 AM| Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

Coming Soon!

We are working on acquiring public signs for cars or windows. Be available in a few weeks.

Also, we are working on compiling a list of challengers and links if available for Congressional Races in each state.

If anyone has ideas on how to cheaply craft safe yard sign holders, either do it yourself or cheap commercial ones, please advise in the comments below.

A book about VOID is being discussed, more on this if it progresses.

Many other irons in the fire at this time, to be announced as progress is made. Stay tuned.

Posted by David R. Remer at 7:51 AM| Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

Good News and Not so!

The good news is, we set a new record for visitors to this web site last month, 1,170, with nearly 2,800 page reads. Each week new folks sign up to stay informed. This brings our total site visits to a little over 7,056 and page reads to 20,000. VOID is drawing progressively more attention by folks who actually read what is written, month after month.

The bad news is we have no volunteers signing up to establish Local VOID Groups, yet. I have sent an email to all of our supporters including our How To guide for Local VOID Groups, and have asked for their ideas and feedback. We may have to take a different strategy on growing volunteer participation. We have quite a few folks who have indicated they want to volunteer, but, it appears establishing a Local VOID Group is more than they want to bite off.

We will review the feedback and post news on this topic in the coming days and weeks. Everything has been progressing so much more smoothly than I ever anticipated when this web site was set up, I was beginning to wonder when we were going to hit a bump in the road. We just did.

And now we will either improve the strategy or, scrap it for one that will work better to move VOID down the road of informing voters that they have a choice besides reelecting the same old politicians that got our nation into the crises we find ourselves in.

Posted by David R. Remer at 3:17 AM| Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

How To Manual ready!

Good day to you all, Vote Out Incumbents for Democracy supporters.

The 1st phase of our Local VOID Group's 'How To Manual' is completed and was sent to some prospective organizers around the country. For those of you interested in forming a Local VOID Group in your state or district, email us at one of the Email Links above or in the right column of this page and we will send the step by step How To Guide to you.

For those of you supporters who are not able or, inclined to organize locally, we ask that you think about who you know who might be interested and pass the word on. All politics is local is the oft quoted wisdom, and VOID must now move to the grassroots phase.

My sincerest thanks to you all for your support and words of encouragement. It is daunting what we have undertaken here, but, our progress in 6 short months has been nothing short of amazing considering VOID began as a blog last October.

Continue reading "How To Manual ready!" »

Posted by David R. Remer at 12:33 PM| Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

Finalizing Local VOID Group Guide

We are putting the final touches on the Local VOID Group HOW TO guide, and the board will meet tomorrow to review whether to adopt this draft as the final one. Looks good so far. I am reasonably confident we will be issueing the guide to prospective local community leaders next week.

I want to extend appreciation to Steve Smith, Daniel Summars and Stephanie Crist who have provided valuable time and very important recommendations for improving the initial draft.

VOID needs volunteers for about 2 hours a week for the following:

Thanks you all,

--David

Posted by David R. Remer at 4:21 PM| Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

Local VOID Volunteer Groups

The Board shall meet in the next several days to review a draft and propose revisions to a guide for Local VOID Groups. This document will outline the structure and placement of Local VOID Groups (LVG) in the VOID organization, define roles and responsibilities of LVG leadership, and define the requisite communication and information transfer between VOID and LVG leaders.

In other words, it will become the HOW TO manual for setting up a Local VOID Group. We are very excited to finally reach this point where we can chart a path for growth of the Vote Out Incumbents for Democracy grass roots movement. Upon approval by the Board, an announcement will be placed in this column advising supporters of the guide's availability. It will be sent to those who have already expressed an interest in setting up a LVG.

Posted by David R. Remer at 2:31 AM| Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

It's official and more!

Our very capable Treasurer, Daniel Summars, as required by FEC regulations, has filed the registration form for Vote Out Incumbents for Democracy with the Federal Elections Commission. It's official. We are an unconnected political action association. Our very capable Secretary, Stephanie Crist, is completing and about to file the forms with the State of Texas officially registering Vote Out Incumbents for Democracy as a not-for-profit political action organization.

Continue reading "It's official and more!" »

Posted by David R. Remer at 10:58 AM| Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

Law, laws, and more laws!!!

Well, I have assembled for the Board's review, all the laws and regulations from the FEC, IRS, and state of Texas which have or may have bearing on VOID's operations. This represents between 70 and 80 hours worth of work on my part over these last 8 weeks.

Assimilating them all so that the board members are all on the same page, and developing the calendar of trigger events and filing deadlines for various steps in growth of our activities, revenues, and expenditures will take a bit more time. The Board is meeting tomorrow by conference call, to review and define questions which yet need to be answered. Then we will each take our areas of responsibility under those laws and regs, and develop the calendar of events and dates which must be adhered to in order to remain in compliance.

It has been exhausting, but, in another week or two, we will be able to chart a clear and legal path for VOID activities which can move our mission and purpose for existence along. Thank you all for your patience.

Posted by David R. Remer at 3:15 PM| Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

Board will meet in the coming week!

Update: Due to scheduling obstacles, the Board is meeting Saturday, April 8, at 4 PM via conference call. (End of update).

VOID's Board of Directors will meet in the coming week. On the agenda is adoption of the posting of the IRS and FEC regulations applicable to our organization on our VOIDstaff web site. Also, a motion to withhold 20% of membership dues and donations to budget for legal counsel planning to accomodate VOID's growth.

If any supporters have suggestions for the Board of Directors to review, please post them in the comments to this newsletter.

We will be sending out guidelines and instructions to supporters who wish to startup local VOID membership operations in their communities very shortly. Final drafts are being made now.

Keep up the great work, all.

Posted by David R. Remer at 7:35 AM| Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

Now for the State

This week is being devoted to researching the laws governing non-profits and political action groups in the State of Texas where VOID's mailing address resides. This will be the last (I am fairly sure) structural legal foundation we need to pursue, before opening VOID up for growth in all the states of the union and coalition building.

Continue reading "Now for the State" »

Posted by David R. Remer at 1:52 PM| Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

VOID: A political action association.

UPDATE: March 17, 2006. The Board is reconsidering its vote discussed below. The President is seeking legal counsel on this matter as there may still be value in organizing as a 501(c)4 while local chapters operate as independent organizations under IRS code 527. (End of Update).

The Board convened yesterday and voted unanimously to organize VOID as a political action association, and forego attempts to seek tax exemption under the Charitable Organization rules of the IRS. In technical terms, this means VOID is organizing under the guidelines of the IRS 527 Code instead of the 501(c)3 or 501(c)4 codes.

Continue reading "VOID: A political action association." »

Posted by David R. Remer at 6:20 AM| Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

Doing our homework!

The Board has delayed this month's meeting in order to review laws regarding activities such as ours. I have spent many dozens of hours refreshing and updating my knowledge of 501(c)3 charitable organizations in the IRS code with the intent of charting a path toward VOID pursuing that IRS acknowledged status for tax purposes.

My study however, also took me to review the web of laws found in the IRS code section 527 and FEC (Federal Election Commission) regulations regarding political organizations. The Board will be meeting sometime in the following week after reveiwing in detail the volume of information regarding tax exemption under each IRS category.

We hope to have some very good news to announce shortly after that meeting. Stay tuned!

Posted by David R. Remer at 10:47 PM| Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

No Slump, Just tons of details!

Changing the course of a nation's politics and government from corruption to responsibility does not occur in weeks, or months.

For many weeks now, there have been no announcements about VOID milestones being reached. This does not mean no one is doing anything. It just means we are working our way through the details and minutae of reaching those milestones. Establishing a non-profit corporation would be a relative snap if many thousands of Americans sent $100 donations allowing us to hire attorneys to do this work for us. That hasn't happened, yet. So, we on the Board are working through the IRS reg's and details of being able to clear their 501(c)3 hurdles on our own.

It takes time for lay persons to become versed in the applicable laws and procedures, but, we are doing just that and more, like keeping fresh content on this site, responding to supporter emails, and of course hammering the Vote Out Incumbents for Democracy mission and logic on many other internet sites. Keeping VOID's message in the public eye is job #1. And we are working other things in to our busy schedules as time permits.

So don't be discouraged by the lack of bombastic announcements of great achievements at this time. Success is a plodding, and step by step time and energy tapping process, and we are paving that road to success diligently, and persistently, and responsibly. Major hurdles are being overcome, and once they are past, the pace of progress and productivity will pick up significantly.

If you haven't become an official VOID member yet, please do so. Your membership dues will aid us tremendously, and your show of support will be a tremendous help in keeping our spirits and motivation high and mission moving forward. Afterall, we are talking about our nation's and children's future, here! That is certainly worth the price of VOID membership.

Posted by David R. Remer at 3:32 PM| Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

VOID's Mission

VOID's mission is to educate and organize Americans, who are dissatisfied with the results of their government or, elected officials. The power of such organization centers on voter's registrations and turnout to vote for positive change in our political system and government, by removing ineffective and irresponsible incumbents.

Vote Out Incumbents Democracy provides Americans who have lost confidence in our political system, an opportunity to restore responsible, ethical, and efficient government. The vote is the power our Constitution provides the people to direct their elected representatives and shape the results of government. A vote for incumbents is a vote supporting a candidate's participation in, and results of, that government. A vote against an incumbent and for a challenger is a vote for change in government, and indicates the voter's disapproval of the incumbent's participation in or, results of, government.

Continue reading "VOID's Mission" »

Posted by David R. Remer at 11:05 AM| Permalink | Comments (26) | TrackBacks (1)(2007), ©

Jan 20 - Moving ahead

You are now viewing VOID on its new webserver space all of its own. We have some tweaks to make, but, the bulk of the move is completed and went without a hitch.

We have a local VOID Chapter website in the works as a template which will be completed in coming weeks.

VOID now has its Federal Tax ID no., (AKA Employer ID no. or EIN). IRS has no problem with VOID being tax exempt as a Voter Education and advocacy organization. WE MUST NOT however be involved in promoting or advocating for any particular person or party in an election cycle. That's fine, because that is how we were founded in the first place, non-partisan, all partisan.

With our EIN, I was able to secure, at no cost, a license to use Movable Type software for VOID on this new host space with up to 5 authors and unlimited weblogs under the Non-Profit licensing program. Many thanks to the fine folks at Six Apart, developers of Movable Type software.

I have assembled all the documentation we need to draft our Articles of Incorporation to become a Non-Profit 501(c)3 organization. We will shortly assemble a committee to assist with the initial rough draft. We will be looking for those who have some experience in cash controls or accounting controls design and implementation. Anyone versed in contracts, law, or with experience on a board of directors of a non-profit would also be immensely valuable to us. Please reply if you have any of this experience and would like to participate in drafting our Articles of Incorporation to Email link elsewhere on this page.

Stephanie Crist has been doing a remarkable job of organizing our records and history to date.

David Weller has been regularly sending me internet resources we can tap to raise our visibility. Those which we have not yet followed up on will come into play shortly.

Thanks everyone for your patience, membership dues, and donations, while we get these fundamental organizational issues out of the way. Once done, no later than the end of February, we will be ready to start campaigning for VOID's mission and growth around the country.

And my thanks to all of you have continued to leave VOID's links or logo's on the internet in your surfing or writings. Please, keep up the great work.

Onward toward restoring responsible and accountable democracy in America.

Posted by David R. Remer at 10:56 AM| Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

Transferring to New Server

We are moving Vote Out Incumbents for Democracy to its own server space. We will be back up and running by this evening. Please try back then.

Posted by David R. Remer at 12:04 PM| Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

Vote Out Incumbents for Democracy Direction

The Board met twice this month and set the direction VOID is to take. In addition to establishing a good many ground rules for VOID's organization, the Board has set in motion a plan for spreading VOID throughout the country as a grass roots organization. The way we will accomplish this is through the establishment of local VOID chapters in states and counties, and urban areas. Details are being worked out..

Continue reading "Vote Out Incumbents for Democracy Direction" »

Posted by David R. Remer at 9:57 AM| Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

VOID Nominated for Bloggie Awards

This morning, this VOID web site was nominated for the annual Bloggie Awards. VOID was nominated for the following categories:

Best Weblog About Politics
Best-Kept-Secret Weblog
and, Best New Weblog

Continue reading "VOID Nominated for Bloggie Awards" »

Posted by David R. Remer at 2:55 PM| Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

2006: Memberships and Local Chapters of VOID

Tomorrow is the first day of 2006. We wish you all a happy and proserous New Year.

Our Board of Directors is in place and will conduct their first official board meeting in the evening of the 1st. On the agenda, memberships to VOID, Articles of Incorporation, governing rules for Board Members and local chapters of VOID. It is exciting for all of us here to enter the new year nurturing a fledgling organization with a mission to restore American government, of, by, and for the people of America.

VOID is made up of Republicans, Democrats, Naderites, Libertarians and Independents all working together for this common purpose. Two major items of effort in coming weeks will be establishing membership dues and benefits, and setting in place our campaign to grow VOID's membership through local chapters of VOID. Membership revenues will be used to spread the anti-incumbent strategy and grow the pledges of those committed to reminding politicians that they work for us, the American people at large, and not for lobbyist's special interests and wealthy campaign donors. To remind them that our agenda of a safe, prosperous, and free America is the only agenda they should be attending to.

VOID will provide local chapters with all the information and guidelines they need to establish a local chapter of VOID. All that is needed is one person committed to VOID's mission and willing to recruit 6 other friends and famiily members to meetup a minimum of once per month to work on recruiting VOID pledges and memberships in their area. We will provide a website for your local state or town chapter, much of the content for that website and a direct support connection between your local chapter and our national headquarters.

If you are interested in starting up your own VOID chapter in your area, please leave your email address below in the comments or email us at the email link above. We will provide you with the details within 14 days. We are very proud and excited about 2006, and we hope you are too! Making a difference is what we are all about. Are you up to making a difference in 2006?

Posted by David R. Remer at 3:05 PM| Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

VOID Elections

UPDATE: Dec. 26. For personal reasons, Dennis Sherrard has had to decline the role of treasurer. He remains a staff member but time constraints require his not taking a Board member role. Hence, Daniel Summars receiving just one less vote in the runoff, will become VOID's treasurer and 3rd Board member.

UPDATE: Dec. 21, Dennis Sherrard was elected Treasurer in the run-off election.

Elections were held for Board of Director officers of VOID. David Remer and Stephanie Crist were voted unanimously for the offices of President and Secretary. There was however, a tie vote for Treasurer. A runoff for Treasurer is currently underway, and results will be updated here, on Thursday.

The Board of Directors will begin in January to establish membership policies, and prepare the documents and procedures necessary to move VOID toward its Non-Profit organization status. The Board of Directors and the other extremely important staff and volunteer members wish everyone a very happy and love filled holiday season. Most of us here at VOID will take the rest of this month to enjoy our families and friends and we thank all of you who have visited us here, for your words of encouragement and support.

Posted by David R. Remer at 1:10 PM| Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

Formalizing the VOID Organization

The staff and volunteers of VOID are conducting nominations for our Board of Directors elections to be concluded at the end of the coming week. This is the first step toward VOID seeking official incorporated non-profit and tax exempt status. Once the Board of Directors is seated, the next step will be the drafting of Articles of Incorporation and other documents needed to petition for non-profit incorporation. We thank all of you supporters and visitors who have encouraged and helped us reach this point.

There will be costs associated with incorporation, and we humbly ask our visitors and supporters to please make whatever modest donation you can at this time to help us budget our incorporation costs and plan any remaining fund raising events which will be necessary. Again, thank you all for your support and encouragement. We are anxious to carry the VOID mission and message into the 2006 election year with your help.

Posted by David R. Remer at 1:14 PM| Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

VOIDnow.Org: 1 month old.

Update:

Here is a graph of our visitor and page read stats since going online Oct. 16. (click Continue Reading link below, for larger graph.)

Continue reading "VOIDnow.Org: 1 month old." »

Posted by David R. Remer at 4:18 PM| Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

VOID is on a Roll

This 4th week of VOID's existence has been an intensely busy one. Almost all of VOID's staff have been hitting the web reading and discussing topics of political interest on political blog sites, and of course, talking up the concept of Voting Out Incumbents for Democracy.

This VOID site is receiving a nice boost in visitor numbers and a huge boost in page read stats (the number of pages on the web site being read by each visitor.) This is a real shot in the arm for us here at VOID.

Continue reading "VOID is on a Roll" »

Posted by David R. Remer at 4:23 PM| Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

Entering 4th Week

This last week has been great at Vote Out Incumbents for Democracy! We voted on our new symbol logo as seen at the top of this VOID website. (Thank you Daniel Summars for the excellent design work). Stephanie Crist is organizing the reams of ideas and history of actions taken in our first few weeks of organization. A new staff member has joined us, Craig Aronow; welcome aboard Craig.

Continue reading "Entering 4th Week" »

Posted by David R. Remer at 2:46 PM| Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

Third Week Progress

Time is flying by here at VOID. Organizational efforts continue in the background, as we lay the ground work for moving into public view. David Weller, former press secretary for the Reform Party USA has joined our effort and will assist us in a similar capacity. Coordinators for various activities have been established.

Continue reading "Third Week Progress" »

Posted by David R. Remer at 4:26 AM| Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

2nd Week Progress

VOID has existed only 11 days. But, the pace around here is dizzying. We now have 6 great staff members:

Stephanie Crist
David Weller
Dennis Sherrard
Daniel Summars
Steve Smith
David R. Remer

Continue reading "2nd Week Progress" »

Posted by David R. Remer at 12:37 PM| Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©

1st Week Todo List Growing

Thanks to everyone who has visited this site and offered suggestions. I have been adding suggestions to my Todo List. Below is the current list of what's scheduled for VOID over this next week or two.

Continue reading "1st Week Todo List Growing" »

Posted by David R. Remer at 12:32 PM| Permalink | Comments (88) | TrackBacks (0)(2007), ©