Early Friday morning, presidential candidate Joe Biden took the lead in Georgia — a state that hasn't had a Democratic presidential win since President Clinton almost thirty years ago. Twitter users, including congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, actress Viola Davis, and former presidential candidate Hilary Clinton, immediately expressed gratitude to former Georgia House minority leader and activist Stacey Abrams, who has been at the forefront of the push to register voters and protect the voting rights of populations that historically faced voter suppression in the contested state.
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Abrams founded the voting rights organization New Georgia Project in 2013 to increase voter registration and turnout among communities of color in her home state. In 2018, Abrams was the first Black woman to win a Democratic nomination for governor, but lost by just 55,000 votes. Amid widespread concern that her loss was the product of voter suppression, Abrams took her initiative nationwide through Fair Fight — a nonprofit dedicated to protecting voting rights and fair elections.
Over the last two years, the organization has registered almost 800,000 new voters. In Georgia specifically, the New Georgia Project cited 450,000 new registrations among people of color and young voters since its founding.
These numbers are a clear success, and warrant the massive praise Abram's receiving, as well as calls to send her well-deserved flowers.
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But, as Abrams and others online said in tweets, the success is not just her own. It's the product of years of organizing by a network of diverse activists and advocacy groups.
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In addition to sending digital (or literal) flowers, consider supporting the momentum Abram's listed network has worked hard to build. Here are just a few places to start, all of which are mentioned in Abrams' or Fair Fight's tweets.
Support Abrams' organization Fair Fight, which monitors individual election stories to establish where it should place its efforts to curb voter suppression. Document your 2020 voting experience using this form, then donate to the organization's broader efforts here.
The New Georgia Project is seeking to register all eligible citizens of color by the end of the decade. Donate to the organization here.
Black Voters Matter, a national nonprofit dedicated to registering Black voters and increasing the political power of marginalized, predominantly Black communities, tweeted that its get out the vote efforts will continue ahead of Georgia's pivotal Senate runoff in January. Donate to the fund here.
The Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials is a coalition of advocates and officials working to increase the civic engagement of Georgia's Latino and Hispanic populations. Donate to the organization's Latino Community Development Fund, which supports their efforts to register Latino voters, provide citizenship assistance, and train young leaders, here. Supporters can also register to volunteer with GALEO's voting, census, or citizenship education efforts.
The Georgia chapter of the NAACP also worked to ensure an equitable election and complete census count this year, in addition to its mission to end race-based discrimination in the southeast United States. Donate to the chapter here.
Advocate for automatic voter registration laws in your own state, which Abrams credited as a major factor in Georgia's turnout this year. Check if your state has automatic registration processes here.
Mashable reached out to these organizations to get recommendations on actions supporters can take as well as information on donations, and will update the story if we hear back.
Meanwhile, Georgia's election officials may head into a recount. Advocacy organizations are still urging Georgia voters to confirm their absentee ballots before the state's deadline to cure absentee and provisional ballots Friday evening. Check the status of your ballot before 5:00pm E.T. using this guide created by ACLU Georgia.
UPDATE: Nov. 6, 2020, 5:06 p.m. EST Updated to include information about Georgia Association of Latino Elected Official’s volunteer program.
Topics Activism Social Good Politics
