By Jerri Glover
This past weekend Potter-Randall Democratic Club (PRDC), Indivisible Amarillo and League of Women Voters participated in Ama-Con. Ama-Con is typically an event filled with Cosplay, fandom and retail therapy for those who enjoy comic books, super heroes, science fiction and fantasy. Ama-Con 2018 was all that and SO MUCH MORE.
The aforementioned groups took to the Con to register voters, engage in conversations and encourage Ama-Con attendees to vote in November. In our booth we also had a photo booth, a raffle and other activities. We did our best to participate in the spirit of the Con. However, it was a great opportunity to talk about issues with voters who may feel disenfranchised, may feel they are on the fringe or different and talk to them about what is important to them. Some were conservative, some independent and some liberal. Their political orientation was not what mattered. What mattered was that people were open to an exchange of ideas and sharing their thoughts on the challenges faced by our city, state and country.
One of the best moments this weekend was seeing a young lady who just turned 18 sit down and register to vote. Her parents encouraged her and took photos of her while she did so. One more young person to bring their voice to the polls on November 6th and beyond. It is so important for us to be where the people are—people of all ages, orientations, backgrounds and neighborhoods. That is why we wanted to be at the Con.
I must acknowledge that this idea started at PRDC with a conversation I had over dinner with some of our younger members. We were talking about the need to engage younger people and have them involved in PRDC. They are the ones that recommended we participate in the Cons in Amarillo. (Thank you George, Chase and Renea!)
We hope to do it again next year!
