Register. Vote. Honor the Women Who Kicked Ass for Us.

Because I am away on a girls' weekend at the beach, I'm posting a very important message from Moms Rising. Pass. It. On.

The voter registration deadline in the state of North Carolina is October 10th. If you want your voice to be heard, if you want to cast a vote in the 2008 Presidential election, you must register. This is less than a month from now.

Please check on the registration deadline for your state. It is imperative. Lives truly depend on this election.

Please make sure that you, your friends, and your family get a chance to vote this November 2008. Your votes are important. We have a neck-in-neck Presidential race. And many local races are decided by fewer than 200 votes. That's you, your friends, and your friends' friends.

If you aren't registered to vote, or you're just not sure, register today:

http://www.momsrising.org/registertovote

Are you sure you're registered to vote? There are many reasons you might not be registered--like having moved or changed your address at all since registering--even if you're still in the same city or zip code. In some states, if you change your political party of choice you may need to re-register. You can also register to vote in the Presidential election (sure to be a close one) even if you didn't register to vote in your state's primary.

Registering is super easy. It only takes 5 minutes to fill out your form - and another 3 to print it, sign it, put a stamp on it and stick it in your mailbox. 8 minutes plus a stamp. Heck, if you're a fast typist (and licker and sticker), it's even less time. Isn't 8 minutes worth it to have a voice in the November 2008 elections!?

Forward this note to your friends and family so they can be sure they're registered to vote, too. Think your friends are already registered? Think again. In the last Presidential election, 36 million female potential voters (many of whom are moms) were not registered at all, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That's 1 in 12 women!

And, if you're thinking that you might not vote this year, remember, every vote counts, really!

Here are some amazing examples of how a single vote (yes, just one vote!) has made a huge difference: John F. Kennedy won the Presidency in 1960 by getting one more vote per precinct in Illinois; Texas won statehood in 1845 by just one vote; and women won the right to vote in 1920 by a single vote.

Making sure that you, and your friends, are registered to vote in time for the 2008 elections can have a huge impact.

MomPower is sweeping across the nation, and we're changing more than diapers. By making sure you're registered to vote, you're joining up with others to make your voices heard for change. In fact, mobilizing moms to vote in the 2008 election is one of the most crucial things we can do to make sure our country is moving in a family-friendly direction on paid maternity and paternity leave and paid sick days, health insurance for all children, quality, affordable and accessible preschool and after-school programs, flexible workplaces, fair wages and ending salary and hiring discrimination based on parental status and family responsibilities.

*Register to vote now at: http://www.momsrising.org/registertovote

Thanks for doing your part and being a voice for moms and kids everywhere.

P.S. Eighty-eight years ago, on August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the final state to ratify the women's right to vote. All of those moms who came before us, moms who asked for the right to have their voices heard in our political process, will thank you if you register and vote. We do!