Today, the Power Check coalition, a new national non-partisan network of leaders and organizations focused on tapping the power of social media to engage infrequent voters, will launch a final push that urges voters to “check their power” before November 6th. It includes a follow up event with Sommore on October 25th in Harrisburg Pennsylvania.
This is their fourth Power Check Day and may be the most important one. Not only is October 6th the last day for individuals to register to vote in more than a dozen states, but it gives voters who are registered enough time to seek remedy if they find out that sweeping changes to voter laws have resulted in them not being able to vote. More importantly, this will be their first time working with celebrities like comedian Sommore to reach a broader audience.
Power Check is a newly formed national social media platform that was specifically created to remind voters to get active this election cycle by harnessing the potential of the demographic revolution and blending traditional civil rights organizing tactics. It is an offshoot of the Get Active 123 campaign – an outreach program that asks voters to do three things: 1) Register to vote, 2) Vote early, and 3) Help someone vote on Election Day (#GA123).
“Our vote is our voice and our power. Everyone knows that in order to expect changes in our communities we need high voter turnout. The stakes are high so we intend to get the entire community to join us,” said comedian Sommore. “We selected the last day of voter registration for the social media push to highlight the significance of this year’s election where young voters are most at-risk of being this year’s drop off voters.
“This social media campaign has been very successful and will be key to driving turnout now and beyond.” said Melanie Campbell, Executive Director of the National Coalition of Civic Participation. “It is especially needed following the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Shelby decision on voting. Many states have passed voter laws that limit early voting and placed new restrictions around voter identification. In some states thousands of names have been purged from the records.
“Let’s remember that midterm elections are important because we elect individuals who will fight for our interests in the communities and states where we live,” Campbell adds.
The program reminds voters to check their voting status with their Secretary of State and urges voters to call the Election Protection hotline at 866-Our-Vote if they feel that their voting rights are being unjustifiably challenged. This effort comes on the heels of recent Supreme Court decisions that affected the Voting Rights Act, which struck down the pre-clearance portion of the law.
“We will not allow this historical moment pass without doing everything in our power to help increase voter turnout in our communities” said Sommore. “There is a saying where I come from, ‘If you knew better you would do better’ and I’m pushing for us to do better.”
