It’s starting to look a lot like election season in Liberty County. The Democratic Party recently opened its election headquarters and plans to push its campaigns right up until the results roll in on election night.
Karen Jemison, headquarters coordinator for the party in the county, recognized last week’s headquarters opening left only a month to get the group’s message out, but is confident she and other volunteers could rally enough support.
“Not only are we in the office, but we’re out there beating the streets,” Jemison said. “Our emphasis is still on grassroots campaigning.”
State Rep. Al Williams spoke at the headquarters opening Sept. 30.
“We understand this is how campaigns are won, willing to go the extra mile,” Williams said.
Jemison said they will register new voters right up until the Oct. 6 deadline, but will focus on making sure people actually vote.
“One of my biggest concerns is we have thousands of people registered to vote already (and) they don’t vote,” Jemison said.
She made it clear the group is also pushing Democratic candidates in the local elections, even though there is only one contested local race that is partisan.
Jemison thought this year’s unopposed candidates were “professionally handling their jobs,” and lack of opposition isn’t necessarily a party issue.
“The public is saying they’re doing a great job in their positions,” Jemison said. “There’s no need for opposition.”
The office is also fundraising to help with maintenance costs. They hope to be able to provide some shuttle service for those needing to get to the polls.
“It takes coal to run a train and gold to run a campaign,” Williams said.
Even those local Democratic candidates who lost the primary are working at the headquarters to help push the party, according to Jemison.
“We have just stark Democrats who want to see the (government) changed from local to national,” Jemison said. “So we’ve got to begin locally to do our bit.”
“We’ve got to work like we’ve never worked before,” Williams said. “We’ve got to have the greatest turnout in every precinct.”
Anyone wanting to volunteer can contact the headquarters office at 368-0501 or drop in 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.