**For more info, visit: DefendTheBlackVote.org**
WASHINGTON, DC— People For the American Way Foundation announced today that its nonpartisan “Defend the Black Vote” campaign has passed the milestone of five million text messages sent to more than two million eligible voters, and is continuing to expand its reach in the final runup to Election Day. The campaign is designed to mobilize Black voters, especially Black male voters between 18 and 35, and to combat voter suppression and misinformation in the 2020 elections. In recent days it has expanded to encompass 23 states: Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
The texting program is a key aspect of a multifaceted campaign that also includes live tele-town halls for voters in Wisconsin, Georgia, Michigan, South Carolina, and North Carolina; a six-figure digital and radio ad buy in South Carolina, Mississippi, Wisconsin and Georgia; and a new PSA urging Black men to cast their ballots.
Watch the PSA here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/peoplefor/status/1318954186013351939
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peoplefor/posts/10164074112050648
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CGnM4UPB52x/
“We’re really excited about passing the five-million text threshold with Defend the Black Vote, and even more excited that we still have 11 days to reach many more voters on a variety of platforms,” said People for the American Way President Ben Jealous. “Black voters have the power to decide this election. We’re clearing away the obstacles of misinformation and voter suppression by giving people clear information about how to vote this year, and reminding them to cast their ballots. This campaign is making a real difference in the most important election of our lifetimes.”
“The response to the Defend the Black Vote campaign has been so overwhelming that we’ve expanded it beyond its original scope, and it’s still growing,” said Diallo Brooks, People for the American Way’s Senior Director of Field Mobilization. “Getting out to vote is one of the most meaningful things we can do to influence the direction of this country.”
Defend the Black Vote organizers say Black voters have systematically been given misinformation about changes to voter ID laws, mail-in voting, early voting, and Election Day voting, which is especially problematic during the COVID-19 pandemic. A central focus of the nonpartisan campaign is to give voters information about how to check their registration and how and where to cast their ballots.
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