The election cycle has ended, so we’re taking a deep breath and two steps forward. There’s a lot going on each of our social spheres and even more happening in our North Carolina and broader national community. With the steady incline in COVID-19 cases across the country, the recent revelation about apps like Muslim Pro selling our data and the holiday season looming, we wanted to highlight the important wins that YOU CONTRIBUTED TO!
After 18,000 texts, 6,000 calls, hard work from 13 community leaders, 19 local mosques, 4 phone banking events (with almost 15 people at each event) and endless coordination with our 3 Electoral Organizing Fellows, Muslim Women For helped NC reach record-breaking voter turnout at 75%! Over 33,000 Muslims in North Carolina voted this election cycle! We did that!
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News Coverage of Our Electoral Work
We even got national and global news media coverage for our work in North Carolina.
Across the nation, community leaders say Muslims are facing barriers to the ballot box. For many immigrant communities, translation and language access remain perennial issues. Black and low-income Muslims are disproportionately impacted by voter ID and criminal disenfranchisement laws.
“A lot of people in our communities don’t have the language to defend their right to vote when they’re being discouraged at the polls,” said Doha Medani, operations lead for North Carolina’s Muslim Women For, a grassroots social justice organization. The group is leading phone banking and texting operations aimed at local Muslims, translating voting material into languages commonly spoken by Muslims in the state, and holding “Prayer to the Polls” events to bus Muslim voters from mosques to polling sites.
Medani said she has seen immense confusion among local voters due to new changes in state voting rights. Courts have temporarily blocked North Carolina’s voter photo ID requirement as well as laws preventing former felons from registering if they have outstanding fines or fees.
Source: Religion and Politics, Across the Country, Muslims Are Fighting Voter Suppression and Intimidation
“What we’ve seen in the past with Muslim Americans, in general, is a lot of folks are registered to vote but they don’t actually go out and complete the voting process,” she says with a slight southern drawl. The group is trying to make sure Muslim voices are heard in November at both the local, state and federal levels. They are providing voters with information in English and Arabic about how to register for absentee voting and supplying voters with personal protection equipment to vote in person despite the coronavirus pandemic.
The National News, In North Carolina, Muslim Americans look to the ballot box to fight back
Our Party at the Polls
On Election Day, we held a Party at the Polls – we provided food, two live DJs and voting information. We were there to document any instances of voter suppression or harassment. We also had a great time in a predominantly Black and Brown community in Southeast Raleigh.
There’s Still Work To Be Done
1. Our friends in Georgia will have run-off elections (that will decide the U.S. Senate majority) in January and organizations like the Georgia Muslim Voter Project are looking for volunteers to help with phone banking and text banking!
(Don’t have time but have money? Give to these grassroots organizations working to get out the vote in GA.)
2. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has requested a congressional inquiry into the possible warrantless surveillance of American Muslims by Muslim Pro. You can sign and share the petition here.
We hope you take this time to rest, de-compress, connect with family and friends in safety and we will reach back out soon inshAllah (God willing).
In solidarity and peace,