WASHINGTON (AP) — Left-leaning voter engagement groups that saw a surge in support and energy after Vice President Kamala Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee for the White House are joining Day as a key pillar of her campaign in the final stretch before the election — is trying to turn out uncommitted voters of color.
However, many of these groups note that there is still much work ahead of them to implement Harris and her policies. The challenges reflect Harris’ delayed campaign start as well as attempts to overcome previous lack of enthusiasm for a rematch between Biden and former President Donald Trump. They also reflect the gains Republicans have tried to make, particularly among black and Latino voters.
Activists from Siembra NC, a grassroots organization focused on Latino communities in North Carolina, found that many potential voters are willing to vote in races for state and local offices while leaving the top of the ballot blank. They feel like local races impact their daily lives, while neither Trump nor Harris fulfills all of their expectations in a presidential candidate.
“We had to have a lot of conversations about building trust, and that takes time,” said Kelly Morales, the group’s co-director. “It’s really about making people realize that not voting is also a political decision.”
The organization held an election rally followed by a block party in Greensboro in delayed September. Labor policy, Harris’ position on the border and Trump’s rhetoric about the Latino community were top topics, Morales said.
The group supporting Harris knocked on nearly 1,000 doors during the event and had attendees from multiple counties.
Persuading voters of color, particularly Black and Latino men, has become a priority for the Harris and Trump campaigns as early voting is underway across the country, increasing the reach of both groups as the race is recognized will probably result in seven swing states.
Like Siembra North Carolina, many voter engagement groups experienced renewed enthusiasm after Harris became the Democratic nominee. At 59, she is more than two decades younger than Biden, who is 81. If she wins, Harris would be the first Black woman, the first Asian American and the first South Asian American elected president.
But as the Nov. 5 election approaches, motivating undecided voters in battleground states will be a challenge.
“We must realize that exuberance and excitement do not result in us not getting the job done. You still have to get people out,” said Michael A. Blake, founder and CEO of KAIROS Democracy Project, a nonpartisan group focused on engaging juvenile voters and people of color.
Activists say the biggest obstacles include restrictive voting laws passed in several Republican-controlled states after the 2020 election, attempts by right-wing groups to purge voter rolls and conflicts in the Middle East.
That’s evident at groups like Asian Americans Advancing Justice in Atlanta, despite the initial excitement over South Asian representation on both sides of the presidential race: Usha Vance, wife of Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s vice presidential running mate, would be America’s first South Asian Second Lady, if Trump wins.
“While there is excitement, there is also a desire to hold the party at the helm accountable to the needs of our communities,” said Murtaza Khwaja, the group’s executive director.
In Texas, where there is a closely watched Senate race, officials said they have purged more than a million voters from the voter rolls since 2021. This sparked concerns among voter organizations such as Asian Texans for Justice that eligible voters might have been removed from voter rolls but there would be no time left to correct it before the election.
Language barriers complicate an already complicated process, said Executive Director Lily Trieu. According to APIA Vote, a nonpartisan advocacy group focused on Asian and Pacific Islander voters, Texas has seen its Asian population grow by about 63% since 2012 and has nearly 1.1 million eligible Asian American voters this year Pacific Islanders.
“These are new hurdles that we see in response to this rise and this enthusiasm,” Trieu said.
Biden’s decision to drop out of the race this summer marked a delayed start for the Harris campaign, but led to a surge in voter registrations, a significant enhance in volunteers and a surge in donations to left-leaning voter groups.
Voto Latino said it registered more than 50,000 people in the 10 days after Biden withdrew on July 21. For comparison: The nonprofit advocacy group registered 2,250 people in July 2016 and 25,150 in July 2020.
Voters ages 18 to 29 accounted for more than half of this year’s modern registrations. The biggest increases occurred in Arizona and North Carolina, key swing states, as well as in Florida, Trump’s adopted home state. In Arizona alone, the group registered over 11,000 Latino voters, more than half after Biden’s announcement.
“With Kamala Harris at the helm and with the enthusiasm coming organically from young people, donors and people who care about a strong democracy should ask themselves: Where can we close the voter registration gap,” said Maria Teresa Kumar. the President and CEO of the group.
Black fraternities and sororities, collectively known as “The Divine Nine,” were a source of strength for Harris. While attending Howard University, one of the country’s premier historically black universities, she was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
On a recent afternoon, dozens of students at Spelman College in Atlanta lined up at a voter registration drive organized by the campus chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha and its brother chapter, Alpha Phi Alpha, at nearby Morehouse College.
Chapter president Taylor Kerr, a psychology major at Spelman, said the organizations hosted the event because it was crucial for students to be civically engaged and have an opportunity to ask questions about registering and voting. The organizations were not allowed to endorse candidates.
Caleb Cage, a 21-year-old religious studies student at Morehouse University, said he was there because of the excitement and the chance to vote for a historic candidate.
“With Harris at the helm, there’s just a lot more energy,” he said. “People are more enthusiastic and much more engaged,” he said.
Following Biden’s decision to leave the race, Delta Sigma Theta, a historically Black sorority, released a paid ad — the first of its kind — focused on Black people and issues such as bodily autonomy and the right to learn about Black history , focused has recently come under attack from some conservative school boards and state lawmakers.
The commercial aired across various networks and streaming platforms and focused on battleground states such as Georgia and Pennsylvania. The sorority had already released a public service announcement before switching to the Democratic ticket, but changed it to focus on what they believe is at stake for black Americans.
Kerry-Ann Hamilton, the ad’s executive producer, said the campaign reached more than 200,000 potential voters. It is also intended in part to reach men and those who rarely vote, said Elsie Cooke-Holmes, the international president of Delta Sigma Theta.
“It’s about making sure we reach our community, reach the lower-propensity voters, those who may feel like there’s no reason for me to vote,” she said. “All of this is important in every respect.” It’s about all of us.
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Associated Press writer Gary Fields contributed to this report.
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