TAKE YOUR SOLES TO THE POLLS

Part of choosing freedom is choosing at the ballot box - the cornerstone of any democracy and the basis for community self-determination. Men and women have sacrificed their lives, careers, and homes in the desperate struggle to cast a ballot for their freedom or the freedom of their children. The Detroit Branch NAACP "Take Your Soles To The Polls" struggles three hundred and sixty-five days a year to impassion, inform, and inspire African Americans to register and VOTE!

The 2000 presidential election served as a wake-up call to many who took the right to vote for granted. Thanks to the efforts of the NAACP voter empowerment efforts, Congress addressed the question of reforming our nation's election systems. Since November 2000, the NAACP has spent hundreds of hours with members of the House of Representatives and the Senate and others in an attempt to draft and promote aggressive, comprehensive election reform legislation. This legislation ensures that every eligible American has the right to vote, and that his or her vote will be COUNTED!

During the most recent election cycle, African American voter turnout reached unprecedented levels. The NAACP boosted turnout and informed voters in federal, state, and local elections throughout the country. In addition, the project launched grass-roots, community based initiatives to educate voters, to purchase accurate and reliable balloting equipment, to train election monitors and poll watchers, to collaborate with businesses and schools to provide on-site registration, and to register homeless people. The projects intensive, voter-by-voter effort was instrumental in the passage of much-needed legislation in several jurisdictions. Equally important, the effort gave African Americans a voice in their government.