2024 US Presidential Election: Kamala Harris, Obama Struggle to Turn Out Black Voters Closer to the Polls

Concerts and carnivals hosted at polling stations. Mobilizations “Souls to vote” after the Sunday service. And star-studded rallies with Hollywood actors, business leaders, music artists and activists.

Such seemingly disparate efforts all have one goal: increasing black voter turnout before Election Day.

How black communities fared in the 2024 election was scrutinized because of the pivotal role black voters played in races for the White House, Congress and state legislatures across the country.

Vice President Kamala Harriswho, if elected, would be the second black president, has made engaging black voters a priority of her messaging and policy platform. Meanwhile, former president Donald Trump sought to make inroads with the Democrats’ most consistent voting block with unorthodox and sometimes controversial activity.

A key strategy in reaching out to black voters for Harris and the Democrats includes sending the first black president and his wife, a former first lady, to battleground states where winning may come down to how well they convince ambivalent voters or apathetic that they don’t have to stay. this one out.

Democratic efforts have ranged from vigorous door-knocking campaigns in Atlanta, Detroit and Philadelphia this weekend to statewide rallies. Michelle Obama rallied her constituents in Norristown, Pennsylvania on Saturday with Grammy-winning artist Alicia Keys, while Barack Obama tangled in Milwaukee on Sunday. The former first lady also held a scrupulously nonpartisan rally on Tuesday, where speakers evoked the history of civil rights in the South.

“I am always amazed at how little so many people understand how deeply our choices affect our daily lives,” Michelle Obama said. “Because this is really your vote, it’s your chance to tell the people in power what you want.”

Efforts to increase black voter turnout often begin at the community level. In Miami, members of local churches gathered at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center on Sunday and marched to a nearby early voting center as part of a Souls to the Polls event.

“It really helps to encourage others to vote,” said Regina Tharpe, a Miami resident. She voted early, but said people “get excited when they see us walking down the street. It encourages them to come out.”

First-time voter Sharina Perez brought her mother, Celina DeJesus, to vote on the last day of early voting in Florida. She said a number of issues inspired her to vote. “It was for me, my future, my mother’s future and the younger generation,” she said.

Organizers focused on black communities say they often struggle with burnout and cynicism about politics, especially among younger black voters and black men. But they are cautiously optimistic that their efforts will pay off.

“If you want the people who are going to be most affected to come out, you have to go where they are,” said Jamarr Brown, executive director of the Color of Change PAC, whose campaigns targeting black voters have included live events in Georgia. Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The group reached more than 8 million voters in those states through text and digital messages in the past month, he said.

“We went to those precincts and communities, those new platforms and websites where there is so much misinformation targeting our communities,” Brown said.

Other events had a looser structure. The Detroit Pistons, for example, hosted a “Pistonsland” festival in a predominantly black neighborhood, with musical performances from rappers including Lil Baby, carnival games, food trucks and other fanfare, along with the opportunity to vote. The non-partisan carnival was built next to an early polling station.

“I don’t like any of them,” said Detroit native Karl Patrick, who attended the festival. He strongly endorsed Harris, however, “because Trump wants to be a dictator.” Not all of his close friends had come to the same conclusion — at least one of his friends was a fervent supporter of the former president, he said.

Black voters are the most overwhelmingly Democratic demographic in the country. But Trump’s campaign has made a more concerted case to win a larger share of black voters this year, especially black men.

Trump’s campaign similarly focused on economic arguments. Trump has repeatedly claimed that undocumented immigrants are taking “black jobs,” despite economists calling the claim baseless. The campaign believes the former president’s broader presentation on the economy, crime and traditional values ​​has appeal in black communities.

“If Kamala wanted to change our country, then she would do it now,” said Janiyah Thomas, a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign. “We deserve more than token gestures – we deserve a leader who respects us, empowers us and backs them up with action.”

GOP Reps. Byron Donalds and Wesley Hunt have emerged as key surrogates in Trump’s relationship with black men. The campaign hosted a black men’s barbering roundtable with Donalds in Philadelphia in October. The Black Conservative Federation, which hosted a gala attended by Trump earlier this year, held a “closing argument” event with Donalds and Hunt on Sunday.

Millions of black voters, like many Americans, have already cast ballots in elections including Georgia and North Carolina.

Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Georgia, spoke about the state’s turnout at a Tuesday brunch and bus tour launch hosted by the Black Music Action Coalition.

“The truth is that Trump advised his people who always vote on Election Day to get out early. So they are the ones who make these numbers look so big. On behalf of us black people, we were slightly underperforming,” Johnson said.

Early black voter turnout was down slightly in North Carolina from 2020, though increased turnout at the end of early voting narrowed the gap. Whether black voter turnout hits record highs in 2020 depends on Election Day. Many veteran black leaders are confident that the myriad strategies will turn out voters.

“Now, obviously, there’s always a group of people who still don’t believe their vote makes a difference, and they get left behind,” said the Rev. Wendell Anthony, a Detroit pastor and president of the city’s NAACP chapter. But so far, he added, “the indicators for us are that these people will show up. They will not miss this moment, this historic moment.”