Brooklyn NAACP Holds Kick-Off Early Vote Rally!

Brooklyn NAACP Holds Kick-Off Early Vote Rally at Barclays Center to Encourage Voting In 2020 Presidential Election

Brooklyn, NY – The Brooklyn NAACP held an early voting kick-off rally complete with a marching band and COVID-19 protective gear giveaways at The Barclays Center on Saturday, the first day of early voting in New York.

 Thousands of Brooklyn voters lined up, starting as early as 7:00a.m. for the 10:00am opening, to cast their vote ahead of the November 3 presidential election, which many say is perhaps the most important election of their lifetime. Election officials estimated more than 93,000 New Yorkers voted at 88 polling sites in the city on Saturday.

 In the 48 hours prior to the early vote rally, 27 Brooklyn NAACP volunteers texted more than 28,000 registered voters in Brooklyn who had not voted in the last few years to encourage them to vote in this year’s election. The rally was part of the Brooklyn NAACP’s summer-long voter registration and get-out-the-vote effort spearheaded by Brooklyn NAACP President L. Joy Williams and Civic Engagement Committee Chair Joan Bakiriddin.

 “The Brooklyn NAACP wanted to bring the spirit of a rally and wanted to encourage and create the start of early voting as an exciting moment that we have an opportunity to make change in our community on a local, state and federal level by coming out to vote,” said Williams at the rally press briefing.

 “On behalf of the Barclays Center, the Brooklyn Nets and Joe and Clara Tsai, we are super excited to have early voting here at Barclays Center kicking off today, running through Nov 1 and then on election day Nov. 3,” said John Abbamondi, CEO of BSE Global. “When you see that line of people outside who are here to make a change it reminds me of the people who were here at the Barclays Center calling for change earlier this summer…and it’s only appropriate that the same venue is now going to be a place where people can come and make their voices heard.”

 City Council member Laurie Cumbo, the elected representative for Brooklyn’s 35th District also addressed the throng of voters. “All this year we have converged here at the Barclays Center – this has been the intersection of the Black Lives Matter movement and this is where people have come to create change. Now we have to take that change and vote.“

 Williams also outlined why voting is so important this year. “Just in New York City we have a $9 billion gap we have to fill. Where is that tax revenue going to come from? The city is struggling, the state is also struggling, and we’re going to need a strong leader on the federal level and a strong Congress to make sure the states get the help that they need.”

 During the rally, the Brooklyn United Music & Arts Program marching band of students age 7 -17 gave a drumline styled performance to entertain the thousands lined up to vote. Brooklyn NAACP volunteers also distributed face shields donated by “Shield The Vote” to residents waiting on line to cast their ballots.

 Shield The Vote Founder and longtime government elections executive, Onida Coward Mayers said “Voters should not have to decide between their health and exercising their constitutional right. We encourage voters to protect themselves, protect the Vote, wear a face shield when you Vote.” 

 NAACP President Williams said the organization’s efforts to get people out to vote would continue right up until Nov. 3. “We are going to do another rally on Nov. 1, the last day of early voting, with about 10 churches in Brooklyn where they will be encouraging their parishioners to early vote as well. Then on election day we will do what the Brooklyn NAACP always does. We will have volunteers, attorneys, legal aids and others helping to protect the vote, in addition to our efforts to contact voters to come out to vote.”