Thomas Carter "Many have given their lives to ensure our right to vote…to express our civic and national will, to protect our freedom. We must not squander it. Please register and VOTE!" James Cromwell "Those we elect represent who we are. Every American has a constitutional right to be heard. Without the vote the people have no voice. Those who stifle and subvert the democratic process are an enemy of the people. Inform yourself. Speak out. Resist!" Samuel L. Jackson "Voting is our most basic human right and the very cornerstone of our democracy. Not so long ago, many people struggled, and some gave their lives, to ensure that every adult American has the freedom to cast a ballot. It is deplorable that, in recent elections, thousands of African Americans were turned away from the polls and deprived of their voting rights. The votes of thousands of people of all races were not counted. There is substantial evidence that this did not happen by mistake. This is un-American, undemocratic, illegal and wrong. Today, the voting rights of many Americans remain at risk. Our personal and collective freedoms are inextricably linked. When one person's rights are denied, we all pay a price. When a person is prevented from voting or his or her vote is not counted, the very fabric of our democracy is weakened. I support The Know Your Rights/Election Protection program, which works to inform voters of their rights and help those whose voting rights are denied. I ask every person of conscience to join me in calling for the protection of the voting rights of all our fellow citizens. I urge every American to exercise his or her rights by registering and voting on Tuesday, November 2nd." Richard Masur "This country has an unfortunate history of denying voting rights to its citizens. For over two centuries women were denied their rights, and for nearly as long, African American men. People of Chinese descent were similarly discriminated against well into the last century. And in more recent times, by manipulating the voter registration rolls, members of communities of color have been excluded from their rights through poll taxes, and other similar means. Most recently, in the state of Florida for example, thousands of African American voters would have been dropped from the rolls in the upcoming Presidential election, had watchdog groups like PFAW and ANSA not acted to stop the use of the discriminatory practices which have marked the Bush administration's (Governor Jeb Bush, that is) approach to voting rights in that state. Thousands and thousands of African American voters were unfairly excluded from voting in 2000, and only careful monitoring will prevent that sorry state of affairs from being repeated in 2004." Alexandra Paul "Free and fair elections are the most basic of rights in a democracy, yet in 2000, the United States had neither free nor fair elections. It is sad, but we must be vigilant to ensure that all Americans, especially those of color, are able to cast their votes in 2004 and that those votes will be counted, every single one of them."