FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 16, 2018
CONTACTS: [email protected] and Malik Russell / [email protected] / 410-580-5761
NAACP civic engagement campaign helped generate record midterm election turnout among Black Voters
BALTIMORE – From the passage of Amendment 4 in Florida, which restored voting rights to convicted felons to the record number of early voting among voters of color – including a 77% increase among African American voters, the NAACP’s civic engagement initiative, The Demonstration Project, helped propel Black voter participation during the midterm election to historic heights.
“Nothing can discredit the fact that leaders, activities, including NAACP supporters and partners, helped increase civic engagement in ways many thought would not be possible,” said NAACP President Derrick Johnson. “This election not only further proved the power of the Black vote but was an overwhelming rebuke of Trump and Trumpism, and a show of support for candidates who look like America and campaigned on a bold, forward-looking and inclusive vision.”
The NAACP, along with GSSA, LLC, a Colorado data analytics group, mapped out metrics for the Black community – across six states (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan), to test new targeting models for low propensity and moderate propensity black voters, impact the elections and identify parity in registration and increase the turnout of Black voters in battleground states.
NAACP door-knocking efforts produced the following numbers:
- Florida: NAACP and partners knocked on approximately 165k doors and completed over 24k contacts.
- Pennsylvania: approximately 30k doors and completed over 11k contacts.
- Georgia: approximately 30k doors and completed over 6k contacts.
- Ohio: approximately 17k doors and completed over 9k contacts.
NAACP voter protection work included:
- Worked with County Board of Elections in various states, in real-time to ensure that issues at the polls were addressed in a timely manner and to support voters who had issues in casting their ballots.
- Participated in litigation pressure efforts to extend voting hours due to voting administration irregularities in Georgia and Tennessee.
NAACP victories to state-by-state include:
- Helped flip the North Carolina Supreme Court
- Helped to pass Amendment 4 in Florida – automatically restored voting rights in the state for people previously convicted of felonies
- Helped to pass Proposal 3 in Michigan – Promote The Vote (Same Day Registration)
NAACP communication and digital work included:
- Reached over 575 thousand infrequent voters directly through peer to peer text messaging platform called, Hustle.
Total Text Messages Sent:
- 512,014 (Across the six Demonstration Project states)
- 578,569 (Including Maryland and Key Urban Centers)
- Sent three flights of mail to our targeted universe of infrequent voters which included over 600k individual households.
Unfortunately, voter suppression played a huge role in the silencing of the political voices of the Black community and all people of color during the election season. In Georgia and Tennessee alone, Republicans engaged in a massive voter suppression strategy that has included further rolling back the Voting Rights Act.
“Now is the time to look forward and prepare for the 2020 Census, and the imminent threat that the Census will substantially undercount African-Americans and other people of color in communities throughout the United States,” President Johnson continued. “This would further dilute the votes of racial and ethnic minorities, deprive their communities of critical federal funds and undervalue their voices and interests in the political arena. We can’t let this administration use yet another mechanism to devalue and stifle the voices of people of color.”
***Please note: The data above is just a preliminary count of the campaign’s efforts. Additional analytics and our full analytics will be produced over the coming weeks***
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ABOUT THE NAACP:
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. You can read more about the NAACP’s work and our six “Game Changer” issue areas by visiting naacp.org.
