Hi, I’m Manny Herrmann, the AFL-CIO’s new Online Mobilization Coordinator.

I’m brand new to this job, and I’ve already messed up. I sent an e-mail to our e-activists in Maryland, where I live, urging them to vote early. But I didn’t listen—I actually forgot to vote early myself.

I really meant to vote early this year. It’s convenient, and it allows you to avoid the crowds. I voted early in the primary, and there was no line at all. It felt great!

But Thursday was the last day of early voting in Maryland. I blew it. By the time I got out of work, the polls had closed. So here’s my new plan: I’ll be voting at 7 a.m. on Election Day, Nov. 2, at East Silver Spring Elementary School, which is walking distance from where I live.

Sign the pledge: “I won’t forget to vote for working families in 2010—it’s too important!”

I admit it: Had I remembered that early voting ended yesterday, I would have voted last Saturday when I was in downtown Silver Spring.

Fortunately, it’s no big deal. I can vote on Nov. 2. But if any of us—myself included—forget to vote by Election Day, there are no do-overs.

Sign the 2010 Working Families Voter Pledge.

If I can forget to vote, so can you. That’s why I’ve pledged not to forget to vote on Nov. 2 and not to let anything get in my way—so I made my specific plan for when and where I’m voting and how I’m getting to the polls.

What’s your plan for getting to the polls? Will you drive? Get a ride? Take public transportation? Are you voting before or after work? What if the lines are long? Do you need child care?

I hope you’ll think through these things and join me in pledging to vote for working families by Nov. 2.

In Solidarity,

Manny Herrmann
Online Mobilization Coordinator, AFL-CIO

P.S. Don’t know where your polling place is? Use this handy national look-up tool created by the nonpartisan voter information project:
http://act.aflcio.org/vote