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Our Future, Our Fight How the Pride to the Polls Pledge Campaign Empowers Pro-Equality Voters
Summer 2024 • Jose Soto He/Him
Throughout the history of the United States, it has always been the people, the voters themselves, who truly hold a significant amount of power in determining the future of the country. The 2024 elections are no exception, and defending our democracy as well as the hard-earned rights for LGBTQ+ people are at the center of these elections. To prepare every pro-equality voter for this fight — the fight for a country where LGBTQ+ Americans can live without fear and discrimination — the Human Rights Campaign Foundation has launched the Pride to the Polls pledge campaign.
Pride to the Polls is an educational and informative pledge campaign designed to reach, engage, register and mobilize over 75 million pro-equality voters. Orlando Gonzales (he/they), the HRC Foundation’s senior vice president for programs, research and training, said the pledge campaign is a “call to arms” for every pro-equality voter and leaders in the fight for equality.
To amplify LGBTQ+ voices and issues, LGBTQ+ voters and allies must vote in this election. They must show up. The 2024 election is crucial for LGBTQ+ rights, and it's essential to leverage our collective strength to protect our progress and continue advocating for equality."
LGBTQ+ people and allies are a significant political force, making up 11.3% of eligible voters in the U.S. According to Gallup, 7.6% of adults living in the U.S. identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community. This incredibly diverse group spanning several generations made a big impact in the 2020 general election, and in 2024, the voting bloc has the capability to continue influencing pivotal legislative shifts that prioritize human rights over political gain. By 2040, pro-equality voters will amount to 18% of voters.
That political upper hand, Gonzales said, is what Pride to the Polls is intended to help people exercise. In order to reach as many pro-equality voters as possible, the HRC Foundation designed the pledge campaign to function as a coalition initiative, inviting other LGBTQ+ organizations and ally organizations to participate.
The HRC Foundation leveraged its organizational knowledge and experience in engaging voters through online and digital systems, providing technical assistance and infrastructure to boost registration and activation efforts. Doing so, Gonzales said, helped the entire Pride to the Polls coalition begin engaging with as many LGBTQ+ voters and allies as possible.
Collaboration across the LGBTQ+ movement is vital, so we have partnered with like-minded organizations. Many nonprofit organizations are eager to engage in the electoral process to get the community registered and to increase voter turnout, and HRC is uniquely positioned to assist in creating the systems to do so. The significance of the election resonates with our community and our partner organizations. We reached out to groups that engage various segments of our community, including young adults, college students, parents, families and older adults."
One of the partner organizations is OutVote, an organization committed to registering and mobilizing LGBTQ+ voters. Isaac James, one of the co-founders of OutVote, said the organization is “thrilled to join this historic coalition.”
“Being part of this coalition will broaden our reach to young LGBTQIA+ people across the country,” said James. “Being part of Pride to the Polls has allowed us to strengthen and grow relationships in the LGBTQIA+ space, allowing OutVote to direct resources and support to young people online, in LGBTQIA+ community centers and across college campuses. This partnership enables us to avoid duplication of existing work and community-building, empowering us to best reach previously untapped audiences."
Ranen Miao, who is also a co-founder of OutVote, said that the organization shares the same conviction as HRC Foundation in that in this social and political moment, LGBTQ+ voters are positioned to be a powerhouse voting bloc in the upcoming elections and should be empowered to act.
“We believe that activating LGBTQIA+ people to vote and participate in our democracy is crucial for building political power and protecting our human rights,” said Miao. “At a time when our community is under attack by hateful opportunists, we see our goal of protecting LGBTQIA+ equality and ensuring that every voice in our community is heard as a core part of Pride to the Polls’ mission. OutVote is thrilled to join the HRC Foundation and the rest of the coalition. These key partnerships elevate OutVote’s platform, provide institutional credibility and access, and introduce additional avenues to contact unmotivated or unactivated voters for the 2024 election, bolstering our impact in this cycle and building a foundation for maintaining this momentum beyond 2024.”
In addition to OutVote, Centerlink, PFLAG National, Point Foundation, and SAGE, among others, are all part of the Pride to the Polls coalition.
The diversity of LGBTQ+ voters, belonging to a range and variety of other identities, including other marginalized groups, creates a distinctive intersectionality. Pride to the Polls hones in on these intersecting identities as an opportunity to discuss specific issues and challenges LGBTQ+ voters and allies may face as they take to the polls, building an informative and educational component to the pledge campaign.
Some of the educational resources Pride to the Polls offers are voter restoration information for previously incarcerated people, information on voter fraud and voter suppression, and a guide with useful information for transgender voters produced by the Advocates for Trans Equality (formerly National Center for Transgender Equality).
Many of these resources, Gonzales said, are designed to help intersecting communities, ethnic groups and communities of color to minimize challenges they may face during the voting process.
“BIPOC people, LGBTQ+ voters and allies face voter suppression tactics such as intimidation and discrimination,” said Gonzales. “Providing resources on how to prepare for, respond to and report voter suppression is necessary to encourage voter turnout. A vibrant democracy that represents LGBTQ+ interests depends on informed and active participation from all community members.”
Pride to the Polls also includes information on how to become a poll worker for those looking to contribute to the election process and strengthening democracy, a perfect opportunity for those who are not yet eligible to vote but are seeking to be involved in this year’s elections.
The pledge campaign will deploy affiliated volunteers and campaigners to engage voters through on-the-ground events and touchpoints. OutVote, in particular, will do so in various priority states.
“OutVote is planning on hosting events across the country through our network of OutVote Fellows in Arizona and Pennsylvania and OutVote Ambassadors nationwide,” said James. “As part of Pride to the Polls, we’re hoping to maximize our outreach to LGBTQ+ voters, especially young voters, to ensure our community has the resources and information to vote and stay civically engaged.”
Pride to the Polls continues to welcome new partners as the elections approach.
Are you part of an organization interested in joining the coalition?
