FAQ

RegisterFiveDemocrats.com

Frequently asked questions.

How do I join RFD?
To become an official RFD Member, you must get at least five people registered to vote and you must let your local Democratic party headquarters or us here at RFD know about it.
How do I contact RFD?
Your national, state, and local Democratic party headquarters will be able to connect you with the Register Five Democrats brother/sisterhood. You can find out more RFD contact information by clicking on Links or Contact Us.
Is there any type of electronic registration I have to do while I'm at this website?
No. You do not (and in fact, cannot) perform any type of e-registration at RegisterFiveDemocrats.com. RFD is not meant to
be a web-based organization at all. It is meant to be a locally-based, grass roots organization -- an organization in which people actually go out and do something.
Do you at RegisterFiveDemocrats.com keep track of all the nation's RFD members and membership data?
No, we do not. The RegisterFiveDemocrats.com website can not (and will not) act as on online database to keep track of RFD voter registration data and statistics. We at RFD encourage youthful, energetic, computer-savvy Democratic volunteers in your local area to do this job -- preferably in cooperation with local Democratic headquarters. If your local Democratic Party headquarters is initially reluctant to keep accurate records of RFD membership data, keep putting positive pressure on them until they change their ways. They'll come around soon enough. Just imagine for a minute the monumental headache that would result from trying to control and keep track of the entire database of RFD membership information at one centralized location. Yes, it is possible that it could be done, but probably not well -- not even with a bevy of brainiacal computer programming mavens. Our website can act as an electronic conduit to help get you in touch with Democrats in your area. However, in our opinion, it is neither feasible nor desirable (let alone realistic) for us to try to keep track of everyone, everywhere.
How do I actually get someone registered to vote? Physically, I mean?
At Register Five Democrats we don't actually hit the streets and physically force people to register to vote. Nor do we bribe them. Should anyone attempt these practices, there could be some serious negative legal repercussions to contend with. We do, however, have the power to convince people -- and if you can successfully convince a person to register to vote, you can count that registrant towards your RFD total.
How do I convince a staunch right-wing Republican to join our cause?
Don't waste your time on such people. We here at RFD are pragmatists. We think that our political time is far better spent encouraging several apathetic-yet-still-concerned moderates to vote Democratic than it is talking to a brick wall.
How do I know if the person I registered actually votes Democratic?
You don't. The right to vote by secret ballot is an inviolable constitutional right. It is a part of the American Democratic process that should forever remain sacred. But statistically speaking, people who are unregistered tend to favor the Democratic party, and people who favor that other party already tend to be registered.
How do I get in touch with other RFD members?
Go to your local Democratic party headquarters or club: you will undoubtedly find RFD members there. You can also email us here at feedback@registerfivedemocrats.com. We'll be happy to connect you with some solid fellow RFD members.
Does RFD sponsor any special events or other non-political issues?
No. Our sole reason for existence at Register Five Democrats (RFD) is to get Democratic candidates elected to office for the 2008 Presidential Election.
What if some Democratic candidates refuse to support and and endorse Register Five Democrats?
Participation in Register Five Democrats is strictly voluntary at all levels. But why wouldn't Democratic candidates support us? After all, we're supporting them. For any Democratic candidate running for office, endorsing Register Five Democrats is practically a no-risk investment -- the risk to reward ratio is practically nil.
If I affiliate myself with Register Five Democrats, will I be aligning myself with a bunch of radical extremists?
Not at all. Although each RFD member is an individual and thus has his or her own take on any given issue, the majority of us at Register Five Democrats consider ourselves to be progressive Democrats. One thing we do have in common, however, is a healthy dissatisfaction and distrust for the regime in Washington now.
Are there any requirements or duties once an individual becomes an RFD member?
No. You will not be conscripted into indentured servitude. All you have to do to become an RFD Blue Member is register five voters.
Won't the very existence of Register Five Democrats make Republicans mad?
That is our hope. However, blind adherents to the Republican Party have no excuse to complain about us. If they really want to take action on behalf of their own party, they can always go to the KatherineHarrisVotingRegistrationEthics.com website -- while there, they can surely get some sound advice on how to go about disenfranchising as many non-Republican voters as possible.
How do I go about educating myself on Democratic political issues, platforms, and candidates?
There are innumerable books, pamphlets, magazine articles, and people out there with an abundance of political knowledge. Make use of them. Also, click on this links icon if you want to visit some informative websites.
Why do you make use of the numerical series 5, 25,125, and 625 to designate the minimum number of Democrats necessary to qualify someone for a particular level of RFD membership?
To those of you into such stuff: these numbers are all powers of five. That is, 5¹ = 5, 5² = 25, 5³ = 125, and 5⁴= 625. Kinda geeky, I'll admit. But I've never professed to being anything close to cool.
Why five Democrats as opposed to, say, four or six?
Good question. The short answer is that six is too many and four not enough. Five is also a number that is easy to multiply and divide. Also, five has the benefit of cultural familiarity. You'd never say, for instance, "I'll get back to you in four minutes" or "Thank God! That six minute break was just what I needed!"
Where do you get the authority to issue RFD rewards?
Good question. I, the founder of Register Five Democrats am not independently wealthy, and thus do not have the means to provide all the rewards for every participating RFD member in the country. Nor do I have the authority to do so. Register Five Democrats was designed to be an autonomous grass roots organization. With that autonomy in mind, it is imperative that each and every individual RFD membership reward be paid for by the very individual who earned the RFD reward. This fact, however, shouldn't hurt anyone's pocketbook too much. In terms of monetary value, the rewards don't cost that much. Their value in terms of prestige, however, is incalculable.
Doesn't footing the bill for your own RFD reward somehow devalue that very reward?
Don't be silly. On June 4, 2005, I ran and completed the Sunburst Marathon in South Bend, Indiana -- 26 miles and 385 yards of pure, unadulterated physical and mental anguish. I trained for this seemingly impossible event for months, logging in over thirty miles of running per week. After completing my 26.2 mile trek through the hard-paved streets of South Bend, I crossed the finish line -- and some beneficent volunteer draped a hard-won medal around my neck. Are you saying that, because I ultimately paid for that medal (by paying the marathon's seventy-five dollar entry fee), that I somehow didn't earn that medal? I think that type of reasoning not only lacks substance, I think it's downright foolish, not to mention insulting.
I smell a lawsuit coming. Aren't you worried about getting sued for something?
Sued for what? People within the organization Register Five Democrats pay for all of their own rewards, and to the best of my knowledge, there is (at least not yet) any law proscribing any person for rewarding herself for a job well done. Besides, in order to sue someone, a person must show that they were monetarily damaged in some way or fashion. Since none of the proposed awards for RFD membership is worth all that much in terms of dollar amounts (eg. two dollars for an RFD bumper sticker, a dollar for an RFD button, zero cents for a possible thank you from an elected Senator or Congressman), it would be next to impossible (let alone worth one's while) for someone to prove that a gross injustice had been inflicted on them because they didn't receive a scarcely fungible item like an RFD Silver Member's bumper sticker. Besides, I, the founder of Register Five Democrats, only make about forty-three thousand dollars a year; so no matter what the outcome of such a silly, hypothetical court case might be, people prone to litigation wouldn't be getting very much money from me.
How will you be able to prevent RFD members from making false claims about the number of people they registered or the number of other RFD members they recruited?
At Register Five Democrats, we operate under the honor policy. In order for our organization to thrive, our members must possess integrity. Besides, if you feel comfortable making such false claims, perhaps you might want to reconsider your status as a solid Democrat. After all, there IS another American political party that thrives on distortion, misinformation, misrepresentations, and outright lies. Stay away from those people.
Can non-registered voters become members of Register Five Democrats?
Yes! Yes! Yes! Becoming an official member of Register Five Democrats is an excellent way for a person under the age of eighteen or for a non U.S. citizen to play an important role in the great American political process.