The new $4 million effort is primarily aimed at pre-engaging and mobilizing black male voters Election day in a major battleground It begins Tuesday, according to plans shared with NBC News.
The “Vote for Life” push is affiliated with Collective PAC, one of the nation’s largest political action committees supporting Black candidates who have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
Collective PAC founder and president Quentin James said the new effort will focus primarily on nonpartisan ways to encourage black men to vote. As part of this goal, Vote to Live will focus on activities such as educating Black men about where to register, providing free transportation to the polls during early voting, recruiting people to connect directly with their communities, and holding events at historically Black colleges and universities. .
The group’s efforts will primarily focus on six states — Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — with additional efforts in Arizona and Nevada.
“Black men are now the No. 1 target for disinformation online, so we know they’re being targeted by our adversaries, by people trying to interfere in our elections, by both foreign and domestic players.” We also want to make sure we’re communicating with black men about what they need to go to the polls, what they’re bringing with them, what’s on the ballot — educating them about the actual process because there’s so much online to sway them.”
He added that black men could play a key role, with polls showing a close presidential race.
James said he believes there are “excessive” investments in trying to convince black people to ditch Democrats and support former President Donald Trump, so Live To Live hopes to give them information that can counter those efforts. Asked why the effort didn’t encourage black men to vote for Harris, James said the group couldn’t raise the money to do so, given that many other groups have done such initiatives, so the nonpartisan effort shows how the vote turned out. Living could raise money to attract blacks.
The group hopes to register 50,000 black voters by providing resources at VoteToLive.org.
It also plans to offer 100,000 Uber vouchers for early voting rides in Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The group, which will also reach out to some black women, is partnering with another project, Turnout the Vote, to recruit 250 “voting ambassadors” to directly engage friends, family and community members about the election process and voting.
His efforts also included a get-out-the-vote bus tour with stops in battlegrounds in partnership with the Service Employees International Union and the NAACP.
Along with “party at the polls” events in six major states to encourage black voters to vote early on October 26, there will also be homecoming parties at historically Black colleges and universities across the country.
Vote To Live also plans to partner with celebrities, athletes and influencers for advertising and social media campaigns.