Mobilizing Georgia Beyond January
Join me in supporting lifetime voter activation in historically overlooked communities.
Last Monday, early voting kicked off in Georgia for the Senate run-offs.
You don’t need me to remind you of what’s at stake— over the last nine months, we’ve all suffered the consequences of Mitch McConnell’s chokehold on the GOP-majority Senate.
While I’m proud to support Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock, and hopeful at the prospect of a Senate willing to help the millions of families who so desperately need it … I want to talk a little about the Georgians who work 365 days a year to ensure that everyone can participate in the democratic process, regardless of whether there’s a high-profile election around the corner.
Low-income families and communities of color have been disenfranchised throughout the history of this country, and the results have been devastating. The work being done to reverse that legacy of injustice happens every day, on the ground, by talented organizers and activists.
That’s why I’m so inspired by grassroots voter mobilization organizations in Georgia like Mijente, the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, and the New Georgia Project.
These organizations aren’t just focusing on turnout in this particular election—they are building trust in historically overlooked and underestimated communities, and developing lifetime voter activation.
Mijente and the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights have joined forces to prioritize the Latino community in the state's Senate run-off elections, hitting the pavement with 200 paid organizers to speak with voters who are often left behind in electoral politics. Over the next two months, they aim to knock on the door of every Latino voter in Georgia.
The New Georgia Project was designed to register all eligible, unregistered citizens of color in Georgia by the end of the decade. As of September 2019, NGP had registered almost half a million Georgians, in all 159 of Georgia's counties. Their organizers are working tirelessly to move the needle on voter turnout this election cycle and beyond.
The voices of working families and people of color must be included as Georgia casts its votes, and that means canvassing neighborhoods that are seldom prioritized in the political process.
I couldn’t be more proud to support that effort.
As Mijente, GLAHR, and NGP ramp up their efforts ahead of the Senatorial run-offs, I hope you’ll join me in donating to these organizations, if you’re able. The fruits of their labor will outlive this Senate race. It is the crucial work that our Democratic Party must pay close attention to and learn from: mobilizing, educating, and listening to historically overlooked communities.
After all, our democracy is at its strongest only when everyone can participate.