The Great Emancipator Canvasses for D.C. Voting Rights
Abraham Lincoln took a stroll along downtown Denver's 16th Street Mall today, encouraging passersby to sign a petition to support congressional representation for the District of Columbia.
'Honest Abe' was really Eli Zigas, program associate for voting rights group DC Vote. Flanked by seven or eight volunteers for the non-profit who made the trek to Denver to help canvass the city during the Democratic National Convention, Zigas got a lot of attention due to his striking resemblance to the 16th president of the United States.
Armed with stickers emblazoned with familiar slogans like "Let Washington Vote" and "No Taxation Without Representation," the volunteers spoke with passersby who ranged from reporters who used to live in D.C. and were very familiar with the voting rights cause, to Colorado residents who said they had no idea the District lacked a full voting member of Congress. As DC Vote Outreach Director Eugene Kinlow reminded the volunteers before they set out, a recent poll showed that 80 percent of Americans are unfamiliar with the District's status in terms of congressional representation.
"It's just ridiculous," said current Littleton, Colo. and former Reston, Va. resident Chris Klein as she signed Zigas's petition. "It's so stupid."
Some of the volunteers are more aggressive in their canvassing than others. Zigas said he doesn't "like to pressure people to sign" the petition, while DC Vote volunteer Ekua Boateng talked a mile a minute to a pair of Denver locals. They've collected a little more than 30 signatures since they arrived, according to Zigas.
The most common reaction to the Lincoln costume? Most people ask how long it took Zigas to grow the Abe-style beard, not realizing the he's been sporting the same facial hair since he was in high school. In a sense, the beard inspired Zigas to become Abe, not the other way around. The rest of his outfit included black jeans, the top of an old tuxedo Zigas originally bought for his high school prom, and a felt stove pipe hat that was purchased specifically for the endeavor.
"Hey Abe!" was a common utterance on the sidewalk as people took notice of Zigas -- at which point the DC Vote volunteers would thrust some voting rights literature in front of faces, and begin to explain once again what they're fighting for.