La. chapter of national voting rights group addresses efforts to protect the vote
28th September 2020 · 0 Comments
By Ryan Whirty
Contributing Writer
As one of the most important presidential elections of our times quickly approaches, several groups are banding together to make sure Black citizens not only are encouraged to vote, but also that their votes are counted.
One such organization is the Black Voters Matter Fund, a nationwide organization whose directive, according to its website, “is to increase power in marginalized, predominantly Black communities. Effective voting allows a community to determine its own destiny.”
Omari Ho-Sang, BVMF Louisiana state coordinator, told The Louisiana Weekly that the group’s goal is “to protect Black voters on many fronts…We’re talking about a multi-faceted way of protecting the vote.”
Ho-Sang said BVMF wants to target and address the stark fact that for decades, if not centuries, Black American citizens have had their right to vote stripped away, either by law, by economics or through intimidation.
“Black voters have been disenfranchised from the voting process for so long,” she said.
The 2020 election remains fraught with complications and challenges that threaten citizens’ ability to cast their votes and ensure their votes have an impact, say BVMF leaders. The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to deter voters from coming to polling stations, while the Trump administration and its allies continue to hamper and discredit the importance of mail-in voting by defunding and disrupting the U.S. Postal Service and engaging in propaganda campaigns attacking the legitimacy of voting by mail.
Ho-Sang said the hindrances being placed on the USPS could be particularly devastating in Louisiana and New Orleans, where mail service traditionally has been racked with problems. She said voters can be dismayed and dissuaded from attempting to vote by mail because of this.
“That has a definite impact on people’s sentiments,” she said. “‘Will my vote be counted?’ It makes what we [at BVMF] do even more important. We have to turn up the intensity to protect voters.”
Other long-term voter suppression methods, says BVMF, include enactment of voter ID laws, district gerrymandering and the closing of polling stations, which has resulted in painfully long lines to cast one’s vote and inhibited physical access to the polls.
Countering those suppression actions, the Black Voters Matter Fund’s get-out-the-vote efforts include a multi-state “virtual bus tour,” in which online workshops help in numerous American cities, especially in the South, throughout the summer.
Each virtual town hall session involved panel discussions and viewer interactions designed to raise awareness of the importance of voting, as well as means and programs that people can use to cast their votes.
The tour initially was planned as an actual, traveling bus tour across much of the country, similar to the famed Freedom Rides that took place during the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
Most recently, on Sept. 14, BVMF launched a major voter-outreach initiative designed to inform and mobilize Black citizens to the polls in November. Taking place in 11 Southern and Midwestern states – including several swing states that could prove crucial to the outcome of the election – the effort is part of BVMF’s “We Got the Power” campaign, an informational series of empowerment and engagement events that have already reached seven million potential voters.
“This year’s election will decide our nation’s trajectory not just for the next four years, but for a generation,” said BVMF co-founder Cliff Albright in a press release. “With critical issues impacting Black communities on the ballot and important local, state and federal seats up for grabs, Black voters must turn out in record numbers to begin building a system that works for us. We are proud to continue this work to engage Black voters in their own communities and help them tap into their voting power on Election Day.”
The We Got the Power initiative includes sending out a fleet of 15-passenger vans throughout cities and communities in numerous states, including Louisiana, to canvass potential voters and inform them of their voting rights, methods and impacts. Radio ads and digital PSAs will also be included in the initiative.
And Sept. 18, the Fund joined with BET and the National Urban League for the first-ever “National Black Voter Day,” designed to demystify the voting process for Black citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We want to really focus on people who are in communities that are already stressed by poverty, and have become even more strained during the pandemic,” Ho-Sang said. “We want to be able to have conversations in real life.”
In terms of on-the-ground BVMF efforts, the Fund is partnering with other get-out-the-vote organizations, including in Louisiana. One such entity is Roll to the Polls, a locally-based organization focused on transporting voters to the polls.
RTTP “provides financial support to high schools, universities, churches and other organizations that offer these resources to the community,” said Roll to the Polls co-founder Jennifer Walner.
Walner told The Louisiana Weekly that the group knows that the bottom line for its efforts, as well as the outcome of the election, will depend on how many people can cast their votes in the end.
“Since turnout numbers will be the true metric of success, this is difficult to speak to for the upcoming election,” she said. “However, if fundraising and partner engagement continue at the current pace, we are certainly optimistic. We have tripled the number of partners we are working with and expanded beyond Louisiana to other southern states.”
Walner added that many other government officials, volunteer group leaders and outreach executives in Louisiana are already doing what they can to educate and inform voters in the state, while organizations like The Power Coalition, Voice of the Experienced and others have been engaged in the battle for voting for many years already. She just hopes that Roll to the Polls and its focus on transportation can be a part of the overall effort to mobilize Black voters.
“We simply believe that every American has a right to cast his or her ballot,” Walner said, “and lack of transportation should never be an impediment to participation in the electoral process.”
RTTP relies on individual donations to continue its work. Those interested in donating, volunteering or taking advantage of the group’s efforts can visit www.rolltothepolls.org and follow RTTP on social media at @rolltothepolls
Likewise, more information on the Black Voters Matter fund can be found online at www.blackvotersmatterfund.org, and interested parties can follow the organization on Twitter at @BlackVotersMtr.
“We want people to have the power,” Ho-Sang said. “Power is what transforms communities, and the people we elect have the power to improve the day-to-day lives of voters.”
This article originally published in the September 28, 2020 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
