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.