May, 18 2020, 12:00am EDT
![Community Change Action](https://assets.rbl.ms/32012589/origin.png)
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Donte Donald (Color Of Change PAC), Marisol Bello (Community Change Action), Monica Robinson (Planned Parenthood Votes), Eunic Ortiz (SEIU)
Color Of Change PAC, Community Change Action, Planned Parenthood Votes, Service Employees International Union Launch $30 Million "Win Justice" Campaign to Expand the Electorate in Key Battleground States
Partnership marks massive collaboration among leading progressive groups with a strong track record of turning out infrequent voters of color.
WASHINGTON
Today, a group of leading progressive organizations, including Color Of Change PAC, Community Change Action, Planned Parenthood Votes, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), launched a $30 million campaign, Win Justice, to expand the electorate by mobilizing at least three million voters of color, young people, women, and union supporters in four key battleground states: Florida, Minnesota, Nevada, and Wisconsin. As many states shift election dates, modify polling places, and move to mail-in ballots, Win Justice will make an investment that is large enough to directly impact election results in each state and work to make voting accessible while combating systemic voter suppression. Win Justice will be particularly focused on the impact of vote-by-mail on historically marginalized Black, Latino, and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and will engage these voters so they exercise their right to vote.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the country and many face rising unemployment and lost wages, voters of color are at greatest risk of being disenfranchised, especially by Republican voter suppression efforts. The Win Justice campaign will adjust to this reality by combining digital tools with traditional methods to connect with these voters. In addition to in-person field organizing if health officials deem it safe, the campaign will engage more deeply with voters by mail and phone, sending personalized postcards, and holding one-on-one conversations. The campaign will also focus on innovative digital organizing tools and a robust paid media campaign to Get Out The Vote.
"By prioritizing people of color, women, and young people through sustained, thoughtful engagement, Win Justice has the potential to expand the realms of possibility in our politics. When these groups of people vote, they consistently vote for more progressive candidates and policies, such as climate justice, immigration, social justice, women's rights," said Rashad Robinson, Spokesperson for Color Of Change PAC. "We are excited to continue building on the success of Win Justice in 2018. Real and consistent efforts to incorporate these voters and their specific voices into policymaking and politics would not only make our communities more just and equitable, but also shift power to the people that are too often overlooked."
"The Win Justice program is groundbreaking because it upends business-as-usual politics that deprioritizes low propensity voters of color or takes our vote for granted," said Lorella Praeli, President of Community Change Action. "It's never been more important than now during the coronavirus pandemic when we have to ensure voters of color remain civically engaged and exercise their right to vote. We see time and again that when you organize black, brown and immigrant voters in our communities, whether it is online or in-person, when you reach out to us about the issues we care about and when we hear from the people we know and trust, black, brown and immigrant voters will engage and vote. This program is not just about individual elections, but about reshaping the electorate to fundamentally shift the balance of power in this country and to engage -- and turn out -- voters that campaigns or parties may not otherwise reach."
"There can be no justice until we elect champions who will fight for reproductive freedom," said Jenny Lawson, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Votes. "The stakes for abortion access and reproductive health care have never been so high, and sitting on the sidelines is simply not an option. Planned Parenthood Votes is proud to fight shoulder to shoulder with our allies in this movement. We need to reach the communities who have been targeted and silenced by this administration and the people in power -- from voters of color, to immigrants, to young people, to women. Enough is enough: While our country's health care needs continue to rise in the face of a global pandemic, it's time for the politicians who attack our health care and our reproductive rights to lose their jobs."
"Working people, whether on the frontlines of this public health crisis or struggling in this economic crisis, are more engaged in politics now than in any election in our lifetimes," said Mary Kay Henry, International President of the Service Employees International Union. "Working people are making their voices heard loud and clear in this election that we must protect all workers - especially after being asked to risk their lives by going to work without protective equipment or hazard pay. Win Justice is about prioritizing deep engagement with Black, brown and Asian Pacific Islander voters. Workers and communities of color can't afford to return to normal - we need to reject the inequality and economic pain that defines COVID but was present long before COVID. That's what this election is about. Win Justice is the first step toward a better future where we rewrite the rules, rebuild the economy based on workers' power and reinvest in communities."
"Win Justice is committed to empowering voters, building power for our communities, and standing against the incompetent leadership that is putting the lives of so many at risk - especially now during the coronavirus pandemic," said Melissa Morales, Florida State Director for Win Justice. "We built a successful campaign in the 2018 cycle that mobilized and engaged our communities and increased Democratic turnout. Our 2020 campaign will build on that success by expanding the electorate; engaging voters of color, working people, and women; and mobilizing enough voters to make a winning difference in these crucial battleground states."
This groundbreaking coalition of leading progressive organizations, each of which have a track record of running large scale voter turnout in these communities, will have a particular focus on infrequent voters of color, including young people and women. The $30 million Win Justice campaign will be multilingual and lean on trusted community messengers to mobilize voters, including a robust virtual organizing effort that includes phone, text, mail, and digital as well as paid advertising on TV, radio, and digital platforms.
Thanks to the collaboration of the partner organizations and their unique expertise, Win Justice can connect and educate voters on immigrant, worker and reproductive rights, health care, economic, and racial justice issues. Utilizing powerful messengers with lived experiences, Win Justice will have an unmatched ability to organize communities, mobilize voters, and hold elected officials accountable. Win Justice can also hold elected officials accountable for incompetent leadership that puts the lives of millions of Americans at risk, including front line workers in Black, Latino, and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
Unlike many other organizations that focus on persuading high frequency voters, Win Justice is focused on expanding the electorate to drive infrequent and new voters to the polls to fundamentally change the voices at the table and the outcome of the election. Rather than only doing a last minute "Get Out the Vote" push days before the election, Win Justice partner organizations are on the ground for the long haul, earning the trust of these communities, engaging partners on the ground, and driving toward grassroots victories -- not just in November, but for years to come.
The Win Justice partnership builds on a successful collaboration in the 2018 cycle when Win Justice organizers and partners knocked on more than 3.4 million doors, achieved 80 million digital impressions, sent more than 2.1 million texts, and made more than 800,000 phone calls in Florida, Michigan, and Nevada combined, increasing Democratic turnout by one full percentage point.
Community Change Action is a national organization that builds power from the ground up. We believe that effective and enduring social movements must be led by those most impacted by injustice and voting is one essential lever of change.
LATEST NEWS
US Voter Registrations Surge as Republicans Try to Limit Ballot Access
One group said it has registered over 100,000 new voters since U.S. President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race.
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The group behind a popular get-out-the-vote technology platform said Friday that it's registered more than 100,000 new U.S. voters since President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race, a surge that came amid mounting Republican efforts to make it harder to register and vote.
Vote.org said that 84% of voters registered in the new wave are under age 35. Nearly 1 in 5 new registrees is 18 years old. Andrea Hailey, the group's CEO, said that "since 2020, we have led the largest voter registration drive in U.S. history," with more than 7.8 million people registered.
After dropping out, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to face former Republican President Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) in the November election. The new presumptive Democratic candidate has already earned endorsements from many Democrats in Congress and groups advocating on issues including climate, labor, and reproductive rights.
Vote.org's success comes as Republicans at the federal level are proposing and passing legislation creating obstacles to the ballot box.
Earlier this month, U.S. House Republicans passed Rep. Chip Roy's (R-Texas)
Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require proof of American citizenship to vote in federal elections. Republicans claim the bill is meant to fix the virtually nonexistent "problem" of noncitizen voter fraud.
However, Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.)
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Lee said the SAVE Act underscores the need to pass her recently introduced Right to Vote Act, "which would establish the first-ever affirmative federal voting rights guarantee, ensuring every citizen may exercise their fundamental right to cast a ballot."
Earlier this year, U.S. Senate Democrats also reintroduced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, legislation its sponsors say will "update and restore critical safeguards of the original Voting Rights Act."
Meanwhile, Republican-controlled state legislatures and red-state governors are enacting laws imposing tough restrictions on voter registration, with violations punishable by stiff fines that critics say are meant to dissuade people from registration drives and similar efforts.
Again under the guise of preventing fraud, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last year signed legislation limiting voter registration drives, with fines of up to $250,000 for violators.
"These draconian laws and rules are like taking a sledgehammer to hit a flea," Cecile Scoon, an attorney and president of the Florida chapter of the League of Women Voters,
toldThe New York Times in an article published Friday.
Three years after Kansas passed a law making "false representation" of an election official a crime, campaigners say it's become extremely difficult to sign up new voters.
"In 2020, even with the pandemic, we had registered nearly 10,000 Kansans to vote. Now, we haven't been able to register anyone," Davis Hammet, president of the youth voter mobilization group Loud Light, told the Times.
In Louisiana, Republican state lawmakers quietly passed legislation making it easier for election officials to toss out absentee ballots with missing details, limiting how people can mail in other voters' ballots, and restricting the ability to assist people with disabilities with their ballots.
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"It's clear that their goal is to make it harder to vote, harder for specific communities to vote especially," Evans added. "What they don't realize is that these laws hurt white voters, too."
In Nebraska, Republican Secretary of State Bob Evnen last week
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Climate and environmental defenders on this week implored U.S. senators to block a permitting reform bill introduced this week by Sens. Joe Manchin and John Barrasso that one campaigner linked to Project 2025, a conservative coalition's agenda for a far-right overhaul of the federal government.
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"This dangerous bill doesn't deserve a floor vote."
These are nearly identical policies to what's proposed in Project 2025's Mandate for Leadership. The plan, which was spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation, calls for "unleashing all of America's energy resources," including by ending federal restrictions on fossil fuel drilling on public lands; limiting investments in renewable energy; and rolling back environmental permitting restrictions for new oil, gas, and coal projects, including power plants.
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Hartl added that "to preserve a livable planet," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) "must squash this legislation now."
Manchin—who has said this will be his last term in office—has been a steadfast supporter of the fossil fuel industry, partly because his family owns a coal company. The senator says his permitting reform bill "will advance American energy once again to bring down prices, create domestic jobs, and allow us to continue in our role as a global energy leader."
However, Allie Rosenbluth, Oil Change International's U.S. manager, warned Thursday that "this bill is yet another dangerous attempt by Sen. Manchin to line the pockets of his fossil fuel donors, sacrificing communities and our climate along the way."
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"Don't be fooled: The Energy Permitting Reform Act is another dirty deal to fast-track fossil fuels above all else."
NRDC managing director of government affairs Alexandra Adams said Wednesday that "this bill is a giveaway for the oil and gas industry that will ramp up drilling and environmental destruction at a time when we need to be putting a hard stop to fossil fuels."
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Sudan's military is blocking United Nations aid trucks from entering at a key border crossing, causing severe disruptions in aid in a country that experts fear may be on the brink of one of the worst famines the world has seen in decades, The New York Timesreported Friday.
The border city of Adré in eastern Chad is the main international crossing into the Darfur region of Sudan, but the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the state's official military, which is engaged in a civil war with a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has refused to issue permits for U.N. trucks to enter there, as it's an RSF-controlled area.
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Last week, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States ambassador to the U.N., said that the SAF's obstruction of the border was "completely unacceptable."
Both warring parties in Sudan continue to perpetrate brazen atrocities, including starvation of civilians as a method of warfare. This piece focuses on the SAF's ongoing obstruction of essential aid. The situation is catastrophic. The policy is criminal. https://t.co/FKhqQh3EI9.
— Tom Dannenbaum (@tomdannenbaum) July 26, 2024
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Another mother, Dahabaya Ibet, said that her 20-month-old boy had to bear witness to his grandfather being shot and killed in front of his eyes when the family home in Darfur was attacked by gunmen late last year.
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The U.S. last week announced $203 million in additional aid to Sudan—part of a $2.1 billion pledge that world leaders made in April, which some countries have not yet delivered on.
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Sudan's civil war has seen a great deal of international interference. Amnesty International on Thursday published an investigatory briefing showing that weapons from Russia, China, Serbia, Turkey, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had been identified in the country. And The Guardian on Friday reported that the passports of Emirati citizens had been found among wreckage in Sudan, indicating the UAE may have troops or intelligence officers on the ground, though the UAE denied the accusation.
The International Service for Human Rights on Friday warned that both the SAF and RSF were engaged in wrongful killings and arrests, especially targeted at lawyers, doctors, and activists. The group called for an immediate cease-fire.
The SAF and Sudanese government figures have cast doubt on international experts' claims about famine in the country.
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