Thousands volunteer for GOP convention, but NYC knows some might be protesters
By SARA KUGLER
Associated Press Writer
July 1, 2004, 4:31 PM EDT
NEW YORK -- Ten thousand people have signed up to volunteer at this summer's Republican convention, but the city is prepared for the possibility that some won't show up as a form of protest.
The New York City host committee said thousands have applied online since the April launch of the recruitment project, which included a multimedia ad blitz starring former Mayor Ed Koch.
Groups planning protests during the convention, from Aug. 30 through Sept. 2, have been encouraging activists to sign up as volunteers and then either not report for their assignment or show up and cause trouble.
"Fill out the volunteer forms. Be polite, dress appropriately, and smile a lot" during the application process, says a Web site dedicated to the sign-up-and-abandon strategy, run by David Lynn of Philadelphia.
Then, he says, "don't show up for your volunteer assignment. Don't call in sick, don't give any warning _ just don't show up."
The convention volunteer operation envisions that some people who register as volunteers will not report for work, for various reasons, host committee spokesman Paul Elliott said.
"It's not a concern _ on the opening day of the convention, we will be completely prepared in terms of staffing and deployment of resources," he said.
Lynn, who runs shadowprotest.org, said Thursday that he doesn't know how many activists are heeding his call but that the volume of hits to his site and e-mails he receives indicate the movement is popular.
"We're never going to be able to count, but I think they're in trouble," he said.
Volunteer applicants are screened at several points in the process. The initial online application asks for social security and drivers license numbers, and is equipped to recognize false ones, Elliott said.
If the online application is approved, the applicant is then contacted and interviewed. Before the convention begins, all volunteers will have spoken or met with a volunteer recruiter several times. Nearly half of the 10,000 registered volunteers have already undergone the review.
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