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These pre-election vibes 🤩
Tomorrow, voters across the country will turn out for hundreds of consequential races in the midterm elections.
And in Alabama, all eyes are on a district the Alabama GOP redrew to favor Republicans, essentially guaranteeing a safe seat. But with Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures running for re-election, it’s not looking like the sure shot they hoped for.
But it’s hard to project what will happen. Alabama is one of only three states in the country that doesn’t have early voting. Bobby Singleton, Chair of the Alabama Democratic Party, says there’s really only one way to tell how voting will go. “Long lines,” he says. “Long lines, and people turning out early in the morning to vote.”
One Montgomery-based activist trying to fill those lines is Kenya Shavers, a community organizer and strategist for 334VOTES and voting rights coordinator at the ACLU of Alabama. We followed her while she was out knocking on doors, checking in on people’s voter plans.
“It's not enough for you to show up to the polls. You must show up to the polls educated. It's not enough to show up to the polls educated. You must show up to the polls educated and take somebody with you,” she said.
“If you vote alone, you vote wrong.”
Tyra Robinson, founder of Good People Vote, is another Montgomery-based activist trying to motivate voters with creative activations, such as making keychains that have everything a person needs to vote—a key ring with an ID holder and an ink pen.
“It’s building that momentum of, like, when you turn 18, you're able to vote and you're able to have these fun things like this," she says. "It's an honor to be able to be at the table and to discuss what your future looks like with you in the room."
You heard them, folks. Don’t be weird.