FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE--October 30, 2006
KANSAS CITY, MO. In a selfless act of civic duty, JO TO GO Coffee®, 7121 Barry Road in Kansas City, will be giving away free Mochas to voters all day on Tuesday, November 7, 2006. Voters who present their "I Voted" sticker at the JO TO GO Coffee® drive-thru will be rewarded with an absolutely non-partisan, 100% FREE cup of chocolatey goodness--the Mocha. (While supplies last!)
JO TO GO Coffee® owner Richard Oatman decided to proceed with his FREE Mocha event after learning that only 46% of voting age citizens participated in the 2002 Congressional electoral process. Among the reasons cited for low turnout rate is the misconception that one vote doesn't make a difference in the outcome of any given election.
"I am convinced that every vote counts--and I'm willing to put my Mochas where your mouth is," commented Richard. "Claire McCaskill. Jim Talent. Trent Green. Bozo the Clown. We don't care who you vote for, just that you get out there and do it."
Richard cites several historical instances where one vote has had a major impact on the outcome of an election and the course of United States history. According to the non-partisan website Insure Democracy:
• California, Idaho, Oregon, Texas and Washington, became states by just ONE vote.
• In 1948, Lyndon B. Johnson, our 36th president, became a U.S. senator by a ONE vote margin.
• That same year, if Thomas E. Dewey had gotten ONE vote more per precinct in Ohio and California, the presidential election would have been thrown to the U.S. House of Representatives, where Dewey enjoyed more support than his rival -- incumbent Harry S. Truman. In fact, Dewey was expected to win the general election by a landslide, so most Republicans stayed home. Only 51.5 percent of the electorate voted in 1948, and Truman defeated Dewey.
• In the 1960 presidential election, ONE additional vote per precinct in Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey and Texas would have denied John F. Kennedy the presidency and put Richard M. Nixon in office eight years earlier.
• In recent years, the outcomes of many state and congressional races have been reversed as recounts have shifted a handful of votes from one candidate to another.
The JO TO GO Coffee® drive-thru café is open 5:30 AM to 9:00 PM, seven days a week. The menu features a wide array of specialty coffee drinks, smoothies, and power bars that provide the fine folks of Kansas City that extra nudge they need to get through their busy day.
JO TO GO® Coffee Mochas are a blending of Hershey's chocolate sauce, steamed milk, a generous dollop of whipped cream, and--the powerhouse of this marvelous beverage--a fresh drawn shot of espresso.
JO TO GO Coffee® is a leading specialty coffee drive through. Founded in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1998, JO TO GO Coffee® caters to busy lifestyles with speed, convenience, and fun. JO TO GO Coffee® has been hailed by Entrepreneur Magazine as the counterbrand to the world's leading specialty coffee retailer and continues to add coffee franchise opportunities across the U.S. The drive-thru coffee bar has franchises under contract in Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, New York and Wisconsin. For more information about JO TO GO Coffee®, please visit www.fabulouscoffeefast.com or www.jotogo.com.
For more statistics about United States elections and voting, check out the U.S. Census Bureau website: www.census.gov/. For other nonpartisan election information visit Smart Voter at www.smartvoter.org and www.insuredemocracy.com