OAKLAND, CA - November 2 - If tonight’s results spell defeat for Proposition 23, as recent polls suggest, much credit may belong to a massive grassroots effort to educate voters of color about Propositions 23 and 26 through door-knocking, phone calls, direct mail, radio ads and ethnic media outreach. The campaign was mounted by Communities United Against the Dirty Energy Proposition, a coalition of over 130 organizations representing low-income communities and people of color in California.

• Raised over $1.1 million dollars specifically to reach voters of color and low-income communities.
• Had over 250,000 one-on-one conversations with voters through door-knocking and phone-banking.
• Sent direct mail pieces in English, Spanish and Chinese to over 280,000 households of color.
• Blanketed the airwaves of Spanish language radio, particularly in southern California, with a $200,000 ad campaign in the last two weeks of the campaign. The spots featured the voices of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and human rights legend Dolores Huerta.
• Enlisted Huerta and two other human rights legends, Van Jones and Pam Tau Lee, as high-profile endorsers.
• Mounted high-visibility events, including a dramatic protest at Tesoro’s Wilmington refinery that gave local residents affected by the pollution from the Tesoro and Valero refineries a media platform to address the harm Prop. 23 would do to their communities.
• Inspired a solar-powered hip-hop tour, The Clean Energy Tour, that took a message of clean energy and voter empowerment to college campuses around California.
• Created a popular hip-hop No on 23 anthem that helped generate buzz for the campaign.