Chop Wood, Carry North Carolina 2/20

Hey, Team NC!

As you know, one of the very best ways to protect democracy this year is to win big in North Carolina in November.

One of the best ways to do THAT is by expanding the electorate to include people who are now underrepresented, especially people of color living in large cities. That’s why I’m going to ask you to help me raise money for a project that has the goal of registering 40,000 new voters in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, where Charlotte is located. The project is sponsored by Imagine North Carolina First and a dozen other organizations (mine included). You can donate to the project here.   

Registration in low-income neighborhoods of large cities is not easy. Many potential voters believe that the government has done nothing to improve their lives, that most politicians don’t care about them, and that voting won’t improve their lives. For that reason, it is important to find and fund organizations that have a proven track record of success in registering voters. 

The organizers of the 40,000 More Voters Project have identified and vetted two excellent organizations to do voter registration in Mecklenburg County:  the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) and Action for the Climate Emergency (ACE). All of the money raised by this project will go to those two groups.  

APRI is a deeply-trusted institution in the communities where it works, having operated in North Carolina since the 1980’s. It has a statewide full-time staff of 23 and operates multiple offices across NC. In 2023 and January, 2024, APRI registered about 9,000 new voters in Charlotte. Your donation will help to increase APRI’s capacity so we can reach the 40,000 new voters goal.

ACE focuses on the nexus of youth, climate, and democracy and has a network of over 50,000 North Carolina members in its Youth Action Network. It registered thousands of young NC voters in 2022. This year, it plans to register a minimum of 14,000 voters in Mecklenburg County. ACE organizers will be especially targeting young voters of color. They are particularly adept at engaging youth in both universities and community colleges, using both paid field canvassers and peer-to-peer text banking.

Some of the canvassers APRI and ACE are recruiting and training will become organizers in their communities. Our donations will not only help increase the number of voters this year, they will also build the ranks of seasoned activists and organizers for future campaigns. And registered voters tend to stay registered and vote for many years, so money going toward this project will serve us very well both this year and in the years to come. 

The fund-raising goal for this Project is $500,000. To date, Imagine North Carolina First has raised $418,000. You can make your tax-deductible contribution here. Your donation will make you eligible to attend a zoom fundraiser for the Project featuring former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. This event will take place on Wed., March 6, at 4:30 p.m. PT, 7:30 pm ET—I’ll be there!

Thank you for considering this. Please share this with a friend interesting in winning in NC!

More soon.

Jess