JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A new campaign announced Saturday, called Vote Local Now, is aimed at getting more people to the polls, especially African American voters.
It’s spearheaded by the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, along with 904ward and The League of Women Voters.
Organizer Ben Frazier with the Northside Coalition said the low voter turnout for early voting – just 12% according to the supervisor of elections website, prompted the advocacy groups to launch the campaign now that has been brewing since the 2022 election.
The grassroots effort will include social media, radio and television spots, phone banks, canvassing and yard signs.
According to the supervisor of elections, 330,986 voters took part in the November election and only 75,041 of them were Black. Frazier hopes to increase those numbers with the Vote Local Now campaign.
“We need to recognize that simply talking about it is not enough,” Frazier said. “We must encourage, inspire Black voters to vote.”
One voter told News4JAX she hopes the campaign motivates more young people to vote as well.
“We must all vote if we want to share our opinion in this world,” voter Darlene Palmer said. “We need to challenge the 18-year-old group, let them know how important it is to vote.”
Frazier said all of the signs should be up by Monday and more social media and some of the radio ads should start airing then to give people that last little push to head to the polls Tuesday.
Sunday is the last day for early voting, when you can cast your ballot at any of the early voting locations around the city: Polling places.
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Or you can head to your local precinct on Election Day this Tuesday