Photos: When We All Vote\Twitter
(WASHINGTON, DC): Dozens of the country’s most prominent civil and voting rights organizations are banding together to organize and turn out voters in the 2022 midterm elections and fight against voter suppression–and none other than former First Lady Michelle Obama has signed on to support the effort. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law joined When We All Vote in bringing together 31 organizations representing millions of Americans to pledge to recruit and train 100,000 volunteers, register more than one million new voters, organize at least 100,000 Americans to contact their Senators to fight for federal voting rights legislation and more.
The organizations announced the commitment in an advertisement titled “Fight For Our Vote” in the New York Times one year after the January 6th insurrection, where white supremacists rioted at the U.S. Capitol in a violent attack on American democracy. Since then, state lawmakers have proposed more than 500 anti-voter bills seeking to silence Black, Brown, working class and young voters, and voters with disabilities, which many of these organizations represent.
“In 2020, we convened the national Election Protection coalition and coordinated tens of thousands of attorney volunteers to staff the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline, which helped a record number of voters navigate their way to cast a ballot amidst the raging pandemic,” said Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.“As the 2022 election season approaches, we stand ready to assist voters again, even amidst new barriers to access erected by states in which lawmakers have made it harder for Black, Brown, and other people of color to vote. We will do all within our power to stop the forces of voter suppression. And we urge Congress to act swiftly to pass crucial voting rights legislation to push back state laws that threaten to deny the voice of the people.”
“In 2020, we saw record voter turnout, especially among voters of color and young people, because of the work of these leading organizations. Now, a small group of elected officials fixated on maintaining their waning political power have purposely put up barriers to make it harder for some Americans to vote, jeopardizing our democracy. We will not back down. We are organizing and are preparing to fight day in and day out in 2022. And that fight starts with our collective effort to press Congress to do the right thing and pass critical voting rights legislation to protect voters and their access to the ballot box,” said Stephanie L. Young, Executive Director of When We All Vote.
The pledge also calls on corporations, the faith community, state-based voting rights organizations and nonprofit organizations to join When We All Vote, Mrs. Obama and the signatories in pledging their own commitments to voting rights, voter registration and voter turnout in 2022.
Initial signatories of the pledge include: ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), Black Girls Vote, Common Cause, Deliver My Vote, Drag Out The Vote, Fair Fight Action, Faith in Public Life, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, League of Women Voters, Mi Familia Vota, More Than A Vote, NAACP, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., National Action Network, National Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, National Urban League, National Women’s Law Center, NextGen America, Protect the Sacred, RepresentUs, Rock the Vote, Shape Up The Vote, State Voices, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Vote Forward, Vote.org, Voter Participation Center, Voto Latino Foundation, We The Action and When We All Vote.
View the pledge and full list of commitments here.
When We All Vote, an initiative of Civic Nation, is a leading national, nonpartisan initiative on a mission to change the culture around voting and to increase participation in each and every election by helping to close the race and age gap. Created by Michelle Obama, When We All Vote brings together individuals, institutions, brands, and organizations to register new voters across the country and advance civic education for the entire family and voters of every age to build an informed and engaged electorate for today and generations to come. We empower our supporters and volunteers to take action through voting, advocating for their rights, and holding their elected officials accountable.
In 2020, When We All Vote ran a robust, multifaceted campaign and reached more than 100 million people to educate them about the voting process and get them registered and ready to vote. The initiative also led in voter education, registration, and volunteer engagement and as a result, 512,000 people started or completed the voter registration process, and nearly 500 media, corporate, and nonprofit partners joined its efforts.
Michelle Obama launched When We All Vote in 2018 and is joined by fellow Co-Chairs Tom Hanks, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Janelle Monáe, Chris Paul, Selena Gomez, Liza Koshy, Megan Rapinoe, Shonda Rhimes, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kerry Washington, and Rita Wilson.
When We All Vote is a key initiative within Civic Nation, a 501(c)(3) organization, and works with Civic Nation Action, a 501(c)(4). These organizations are homes for changemakers who inspire, educate, and activate people around the issues that will define this generation.
For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommittee.org
