MINNEAPOLIS — Friday was the day of the first day of early voting in Minnesota for this election and the fifth annual National Black Voter Day, a collaboration between civic engagement groups and BET to mobilize voters.
Local groups in the Twin Cities say the work to educate people about voting has not stopped, with less 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 impact you in ways that you may have taken for granted over time, and we need to help them see that differently.”
Stephens said community 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 approaches, 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 who recently became eligible to vote in this presidential election, thanks to a law restoring voting rights to people with criminal records who are under supervision or on probationUntil the state legislature changed the policy, these individuals had to wait until their sentences were served.
An estimated 55,000 Minnesotans now qualify to vote under 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 those on probation and supervision, respectively.
Antonio Williams, a former prisoner who now works with his organization Tone Up to help people reintegrate into society, said the change at the Capitol last year was an important step, but it was just the first.
On Friday, he and others on his team made phone calls to reach out to people who had been affected, reminding them of their rights, encouraging them to vote, and providing them with resources if they needed them. They also went door-to-door.
“That is power, but it is latent power now. It is only powerful when all of these people know that their right to vote has been restored and all of these people feel valued enough to participate in their democracy in the most fundamental way, which is to vote,” Williams said.
Secretary of State Steve Simon also said his office is working with the Minnesota Department of Corrections to notify people to be told upon their release from prison that they have the right to vote.
For Williams, restoring the right to vote to people convicted of a crime is also a personal matter, and it’s a right he doesn’t take for granted.
“This is part of my legacy, our legacy. Now that I can vote, I think it’s important to let our people know and to constantly remind myself that I’m part of history. I’m making history,” he said.
