Current:Home > ScamsMichelle Obama will headline an Atlanta rally aimed at boosting voter turnout-LoTradeCoin
Michelle Obama will headline an Atlanta rally aimed at boosting voter turnout
View Date:2024-12-24 10:30:09
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former first lady Michelle Obama will headline a rally in Atlanta a week before the Nov. 5 election alongside celebrities and civic leaders focusing on engaging younger and first-time voters, as well as voters of color.
The Oct. 29 event will be hosted by When We All Vote, a nonpartisan civic engagement group that Obama founded in 2018 to “change the culture around voting” and reach out to people who are less likely to engage in politics and elections.
The rally is likely to help the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, in a closely contested state. Obama is one of the party’s best-known figures and gave a speech boosting Harris’ candidacy at the national convention in August.
It is unclear which celebrities will attend the rally but organizers noted that the group’s co-chairs include professional basketball players Stephen Curry and Chris Paul; musical artists Becky G, H.E.R., Selena Gomez, Jennifer Lopez and Janelle Monáe; beauty influencer Bretman Rock; and actors Tom Hanks, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Kerry Washington.
The group has hosted more than 500 “Party at the Polls” events across the country focused on increasing voter registration and turnout. The events have ranged from pop-up block parties in Las Vegas, Phoenix and Philadelphia to voter registration partnerships with professional sports leagues and music festivals over the past year.
“The goal is to take the energy and momentum at the rally to the ballot box,” said Beth Lynk, executive director of When We All Vote. “We want to bring the culture, the energy and the momentum together in one big space.”
Lynk said the group chose Atlanta because of the state’s diversity and the impact that only a handful of voters can make in Georgia. About one-third of Georgia’s electorate is Black alongside rapidly growing Asian American and Latino communities. When We All Vote is focused on engaging college students on campuses in the metropolitan Atlanta area, Lynk said.
“Something that we have been hearing from young voters is that a lot of people don’t believe that their votes have power. But they do, plain and simple,” Lynk said. “We know that democracy has to work for all of us and that’s what we will be stressing at this rally.”
The rally will take place just before early voting ends in Georgia on Nov. 1, less than a week before Election Day.
veryGood! (471)
Related
- A $1 billion proposal is the latest plan to refurbish and save the iconic Houston Astrodome
- Tisha Campbell Shares She's Been in Remission From Sarcoidosis for 4 Years
- Scott Disick and Kourtney Kardashian’s Teen Son Mason Is All Grown Up While Graduating Middle School
- Holocaust survivor finds healing through needle and thread
- Voters in California city reject measure allowing noncitizens to vote in local races
- What to look for the in the Labor Department's May jobs report
- Israel says deadly strike on Gaza school sheltering Palestinians targeted Hamas militants planning attacks
- Baby Reindeer Alleged Real-Life Stalker Fiona Harvey Files $170 Million Lawsuit Against Netflix
- Disruptions to Amtrak service continue after fire near tracks in New York City
- 17-year-old boy student in Seattle high school parking lot, authorities say
Ranking
- Sofia Richie Reveals 5-Month-Old Daughter Eloise Has a Real Phone
- Save 62% on Athleta, 50% on IT Cosmetics, 60% on Pottery Barn & 95 More of This Weekend's Best Deals
- Connecticut’s Democratic governor creates working group to develop ranked-choice voting legislation
- GameStop stock soars after Keith Gill, or Roaring Kitty, reveals plan for YouTube return
- AI could help scale humanitarian responses. But it could also have big downsides
- Stock market today: Asian stocks are mixed ahead of key U.S. jobs data
- 'You can judge me all you want': California mom's refusal to return shopping cart goes viral
- James Beard finalists include an East African restaurant in Detroit and Seattle pho shops
Recommendation
-
2 striking teacher unions in Massachusetts face growing fines for refusing to return to classroom
-
Ghost Army survivor reflects on WWII deception operation: We were good
-
Tom Bower, 'The Waltons' and 'Die Hard 2' actor, dies at 86: 'An extraordinary human being'
-
'You can judge me all you want': California mom's refusal to return shopping cart goes viral
-
Jerry Jones lashes out at question about sun's glare at AT&T Stadium after Cowboys' loss
-
MLB Misery Index: White Sox manager Pedro Grifol on the hot seat for MLB's worst team
-
Robinhood to acquire Bitstamp crypto exchange in $200 million deal
-
Police won’t bring charges after monster truck accident injures several spectators