In the video that was shared with TV program Prior to its release in The Shade Room, Obama urged the American public to vote as soon as possible for Biden.
“You know, elections are coming,” says the former president, “and I only have one word: vote.” “In fact, I have two: vote early.”
Without mentioning President Donald Trump by name, Mr. Obama next adds: “Right now, from the White House down, people are working to stop people from voting, especially communities of color.
This is because there is a lot at stake in this election. Not only our epidemiological response or racial justice, but our democracy itself. “
The campaign video was released a day after a UK news channel 4 investigation accused the president of seeking to deter more than 3.5 million black voters from going to the polls in the 2016 presidential election.
His campaign was accused of targeting African-American voters in 16 glamorous states with negative ads for Hillary Clinton, with the goal of deterring them from voting.
Jamal Watkins, vice president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), told Channel 4 that the organization was upset about an attempt to suppress black voters in 2016.
So, we use data – similar to voter file data – but to motivate, persuade and encourage people to participate. We don’t use data to tell who we can deter and stay home. In essence, Watkins said, this appears to be a shift from the concept of democracy. ”The nearly two million black voters who voted for Obama in 2012 did not do the same for Mrs. Clinton in 2016, after the Trump campaign allegedly delayed black voters in states such as Wisconsin and Milwaukee. Trump previously used any targeted Facebook campaigns.
Voters were casting their ballots early this year, as Mr Trump has repeatedly spoken out against people who could vote by mail in this year’s presidential election and claimed without evidence that it would lead to a massive increase in vote fraud.
The president also refused to grant more funding to the USPS, despite its suffering during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and under the leadership of General Post Office Director Louis Deguy.
A deal to help fund the USPS struck the House of Representatives last month, but it is unlikely to pass through the Senate, as Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he will not accept a separate bill of service. President Trump has also threatened to use their veto power.
During an interview with Maria Bartiromo, Fox Business presenter, last month, Trump said that Democrats need USPS funding “in order to get the post office to work, so that it can take all these millions and millions of ballots.”
“But if they don’t get these two items, that means you can’t get a public vote by mail, because they’re not equipped to get it. They don’t have the money to do the public vote by mail. So, they can’t do that, I think.”
Democratic officials are urging US citizens to vote as quickly as possible, in order to make sure their votes count in the November 3 presidential election.
The Biden campaign also released a video of Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Tuesday, urging voters to cast their ballots early.
“We know everything is at stake, everything from women’s health to our jobs, from black companies to the quality of our schools and our communities,” Ms. Harris says in the video.
“And of course, we must defeat Covid-19 and confront racism and injustice in our country,” she adds.
Camau Marshall, director of strategic communications for the campaign spoke to PBS about the new campaign videos, saying, “Our campaign focuses on meeting voters wherever they are, defining Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ plan to build back better, and encouraging them to vote,”
The goal, he added, was “to reach a critical audience of the black voters we hope will turn up this fall.”
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