On first day of early voting and National Black Voter Day, Minnesota groups double down on voter registration efforts
MINNEAPOLIS — Friday marked the first day of early voting in Minnesota for this election and the Fifth annual National Black Voter Day, a partnership between civic engagement groups and BET to mobilize voters.
But local groups in the Twin Cities say the work of getting people educated about voting hasn't stopped with fewer than 50 days to go until Election Day.
"The excuse we hear most often is, 'it doesn't matter,'" said Marquita Stephens, president and CEO of the Urban League Twin Cities. "Voting does, in fact, impact you in ways that perhaps you've taken for granted over time, and we need to help them view that differently."
Stephens said that civic engagement is a core mission and visitors to their Minneapolis office are routinely asked if they're registered to vote, no matter the time of year. But as November draws near, the Urban League's young professionals group is launching a social media blitz to target young voters online.
The Urban League plans to work with people recently eligible to vote in this presidential election, thanks to a law restoring the voting rights to people with felony records who are on supervised release or probation. Until the policy change by the state legislature, these individuals had to wait until their sentence was complete.
An estimated 55,000 Minnesotans are now allowed to vote because of that law. And there are racial disparities: Black Minnesotans make up just 7% of the population, but represent 36% of the prison population, according to state data, and 19% and 26% of the people on probation and supervised release, respectively.
Antonio Williams, who is formerly incarcerated and now works with people re-entering society through his organization Tone Up, said the change at the capitol last year is an important step, but it's only the first one.
On Friday, he and others on his team made calls to reach people impacted and remind them of their rights, encourage them to vote, and provide resources if they need them. They also go door knocking.
"That's power, but it's latent power right now. It's only powerful when all of these folks know that they have their right to vote restored and all of these folks feel valued enough to participate in their democracy in the most fundamental way, which is voting," Williams said.
Secretary of State Steve Simon also said his office is working with the Minnesota Department of Corrections to notify people upon leaving prison that they are eligible to vote.
For Williams, restoring the vote for people with felony convictions is also personal and it's a right he doesn't take for granted.
"This is a part of my legacy—our legacy. So now that I'm able to vote too, I think the importance is to let our people know and to remind myself constantly that I'm a part of history. I'm making history," he said.