Trade agreements made with our neighboring countries have damaging effects especially on our neighbors to the south and on workers in our own country. Currently trade ministers and corporations are working on two new agreements, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). These would lock the Americas into a corporate dominated future of poverty, exclusion and environmental destruction.

Across the hemisphere, social movements are uniting to say, Enough is Enough! If they won't consult the people, we'll do it for them!" Popular balloting on the FTAA is happening throughout the hemisphere. In Brazil last fall they collected almost 10 million ballots, 99% of which voted NO ON THE FTAA.

In the US, a national campaign is underway to collect hundreds of thousands of NO FTAA ballots and to present them to the trade ministers in Miami for the FTAA Ministerial Meeting November 17-21. Please vote against this destructive "trade" agreement. You can vote online and download ballots to share with your family, friends and colleagues at http://www.citizenstrade.org/ftaa_ballot.php

To strengthen this campaign there is a special effort to collect ballots especially between October 11 - 14.

October 11 & 12 is "Take the ballot to your Faith Community Day" and
October 13 & 14 is "Take the Ballot to Work Day."

October 11-13 Indigenous Peoples Day/Columbus Day Weekend

October 12 is Indigenous Peoples Day as well as a Continental Day of Action Against Free Trade in Latin America. What better way to show our solidarity than to organize to stop the FTAA & CAFTA. Across the country people will be collecting ballots at different actions & events. People will also be taking ballots to their faith communities and to work.

Here are some things you might do:

• Set up a balloting table at your post office, farmer's market, on your campus, etc.
• Go door to door asking people to vote No on the FTAA
• Find 10 friends to collect 10 each -- that's 100!
• Take ballots to a Columbus Day Soccer tournament
• Send an email with a balloting link to family & friends asking them to vote no

Again, we ask that you join the National Ballot Campaign to Stop the FTAA & CAFTA by clicking on the following link:

http://www.citizenstrade.org/ftaa_ballot.php