By Christopher Brito
September 30, 2020 / 8:29 p.m.
/ CBS News
More than 10,000 election officers have been recruited by NBA superstar LeBron James’ voting rights organization, More Than A Vote, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), organizations with nonprofits announced in a press release on Wednesday Their We Got Next campaign was officially launched less than two weeks ago
On Wednesday, more than 10,000 volunteers signed up to be polling agents across the campaign, according to More Than a Vote and the LDF Janell Byrd-Chichester, director of LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute, told CBS News that they were « thrilled » by the number of people who signed up and want to keep it growing
« We want more and we will continue to push and encourage people to register to become polling officers because it is fundamental to our democracy, » Byrd-Chichester told CBS News
Faced with a shortage of election workers across the country, and particularly in communities of color, the campaign aims to recruit young people It kicked off with an ad that ran on television throughout the playoffs of the NBA and digital platforms The ad, narrated by WNBA star Chiney Ogwumike, prompts viewers to register as pollsters through the More Than a Vote website
To celebrate this milestone, the NBA will welcome polling agents recruited by We Got Next to participate as virtual fans in the first game of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday James plays for the Lakers
Now the campaign is looking at the next phase of recruiting polling officers – a focus on cities where shortages persist Among them are Birmingham, Charlotte, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and San Antonio
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The plan also includes rolling out ads to targeted cities over a series of weeks and mailings to 10 targeted southern states, Byrd-Chichester said The mailings include 13 million letters from James, the LDF and More Than a Vote, according to Byrd-Chichester
In addition, they sent voter protection kits containing a mask, disposable gloves, hand sanitizer and voter information cards Byrd-Chichester said they are trying to make sure voters have the information they need to vote safely and securely
« Our overall goal is both to make sure that there are polling officers running the polling stations and also to make sure that voters have what they need and that they can make their plans and prepare to vote whether it’s an advance poll, a postal vote or an in-person vote on polling day, « Byrd-Chichester told CBS News
Led by James and other sports athletes, More Than a Vote worked to tackle the systemic and racist crackdown on voters after the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd
First published on September 30, 2020 / 20:29
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Christopher Brito is a social media producer and trending writer for CBS News, focusing on sports and stories that involve issues of race and culture
LeBron James, Election Officer, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat
World News – CA – After LeBron James’ recruiting efforts, more than 10,000 volunteers have signed up to become polling agents
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
