A seven-article series for BET published in the last two months leading up to the 2022 midterm elections featuring interviews from leaders of national civic organizations.
On Tuesday, November 8, Americans head to the polls to cast their ballot in what could be another record breaking turnout for voters who have participated in recent midterm elections. According to a Gallup poll released earlier this week, 41% of registered voters say they plan to vote early, up from 34% in the 2018 midterms, which itself had the highest midterm election voter turnout in modern day history.
A recent study estimated that 4.6 million Americans will not be able to vote in this year's midterm elections due to a current or previous felony conviction. The study also found that African Americans of voting age are over three times more likely to be disenfranchised due to a felony than non-African Americans - about one out of every 19 citizens in the U.S.
Some civic engagement organizations working to encourage participation for this year’s midterm elections are doing so with a message that centers on actively engaging in democracy after voters cast their ballots on Election Day. LaTosha Brown, Co-founder of Black Voters Matter says the inspiration for their multi-layered approach stems from previous civil rights movements and a desire to deeply empower the Black community.
The NBA has a history of supporting voter access and civic engagement. From teams hosting voter registration drives to outspoken players like Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul Jabar, and Lebron James advocating their own causes. This year on Tuesday, November 8th, the league is supporting voter efforts to increase registration and participation by refraining from hosting any games on Election Day for the first time ever. “We want people to participate.”
Traditionally, voter drives include door knocking and phone calls employed by civic organizations to engage or register American citizens in hopes they turn up on election day. This midterm election year, Black Futures Lab is employing an innovative approach with a nationwide census project designed to get out the Black vote and build the Black agenda. Alicia Garza, founder and principal of Black Futures Lab, told BET News that the purpose of the organization’s Black Census Project is to arm Black Americans with the tools needed to advocate their concerns to elected officials long after the results come in and leaders assume office.
Even though 2018 saw the highest turnout for a midterm election since 1914, nearly 50 percent of voters did not participate. It was also the largest turnout of young people in decades for a midterm election, yet still, nearly two-thirds of young people did not vote. When We All Vote, a non-partisan initiative launched by former First Lady Michelle Obama, has been working to close the race and age gap in voter participation.
With the U.S. midterm elections less than two months away, nationwide efforts to get voters to the polls have been accelerating as advocacy groups try to capitalize on the historic turnout of the 2020 presidential election. The National Urban League, one of the oldest civil rights organizations in the country, has launched a field campaign that will be its largest midterm “get out the vote” initiative in the organization’s modern-day history.