Dear John,
For the past three years, we've joined with you to show the nation that the 140 million poor and low-income people are building a new and unsettling force.
Today, we are releasing a groundbreaking report that demonstrates that the number of non-voting poor and low-income eligible voters far exceeds the margin of victory in recent elections in many states, potentially shifting the political terrain for national, state and local races for years to come.
CLICK TO VIEW THE REPORT[Join us for a press conference to announce the findings in our new report on the power of poor and low-income voters, at 1PM ET / 10AM PT, on the PPC Facebook page or on our website.]
Both political parties are guilty of denying poor people full access to the political process. Politicians have chosen to focus on the “middle class” and wealthy. It’s high time we acknowledge this betrayal of nearly half the nation is morally indefensible, constitutionally inconsistent and economically insane.
Poor and low-income people constitute more than 25 percent of the electorate, but 34 million of them did not vote in 2016. In at least 15 states across the country, including key battleground states in the midwest and in the south, just a few percentage points change in the turnout of these potential voters could change the political maps of this country.
We know that a movement of poor and low-income people organized around a focused agenda, a movement that is committed to voting and staying engaged between elections, has the power to change both who runs for office and the outcomes of those elections. And we know that the power of the poor and low-income vote has never been more critical and potent than it is now.
More than 50 million unemployment claims have been filed in the last 5 months and 28 million evictions are looming. Meanwhile our country’s billionaires have amassed more than $700 billion in profits during the pandemic. And this comes on top of a pandemic of systemic racism and poverty that was already killing 700 people a day before COVID-19. Our backs are against the wall, and we’ve got no choice but to push, using everything we’ve got.
This election season, we are going to do MORE — Mobilizing, Organizing, Registering and Educating for a Movement that Votes! We will engage in voter turnout, poll monitoring and voter protection in the service of pushing our agenda and organizing a moral fusion movement that will transform this nation.
This is a matter of life and death. It is time to take back the reins of our democracy, push a political agenda that speaks to our issues, and change what is possible in this country.
Join us today at 1pm ET / 10 AM PT for a news conference with the co-chairs and the report authors on the PPC Facebook page or on our website.
Forward together, not one step back!
Rev. Dr. William Barber and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis
Co-Chairs, Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
