We aren’t going to let 2021 go another day without taking time to celebrate a victory that already feels like it happened months ago! Last week, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff were sworn in as the first Black Senator and first Jewish American Senator from the state of Georgia after a jaw-dropping effort by incredible organizers to turn out the vote.
Especially in these challenging times, we must celebrate our victories. As in November 2020, young voters of color in Georgia—especially Black youth—flexed their power in this election. According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) more than 90% of young Black voters backed Warnock and Ossoff. This record turnout for a runoff election demonstrates Georgians’ determination to fight against voter suppression, exercise their right to vote to fight for their futures, and strengthen our democracy.
We thank and congratulate the Black women like our friend Nse Ufot, Executive Director of New Georgia Project, Deborah Scott, founder of Georgia Stand Up, and of course Stacey Abrams who have led the charge on building a more progressive Georgia. And we celebrate the powerful organizers from groups like Mijente, GLAHR, Asian American Advocacy Fund , and so many other phenomenal grassroots organizers and volunteers for their unprecedented efforts to mobilize voters in Georgia.
ALLIANCE FOR YOUTH ACTION’S IMPACT ON GEORGIA RUNOFF
In an effort to help close infrastructure gaps and ensure young Georgian voters had the information they needed to participate in the runoff election, the Alliance ran a text, mail, and call program from mid-November to Election Day. Our runoff work included:
🤳 1.53 million text messages sent
✉️ 830k pieces of mail delivered
📞 820k calls made
This work helped contribute to 238,170 young Georgians to vote early or absentee, early 17,000 of whom did not vote in the November election.
Our work in the runoff built upon our work in Georgia for the general. We threw down alongside friends because we know that when young people are mobilized, we win.
The Alliance network will continue to mobilize Generation Z and Millennials to push elected officials, including Senators Warnock and Ossoff, to bring the issues young people care about to the table and have robust plans for how to address them.
We work everyday on defending our democracy. Today, let’s not forget to celebrate!