WASHINGTON — Today, on National Voter Registration Day, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) — the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization — published a full-page ad in USA Today urging Americans to pledge to vote for equality in the upcoming midterms. With only 42 days left until Election Day, HRC calls on voters in the ad to join the more than 10 million LGBTQ voters and 52 million “Equality Voters” in making a difference this November by checking their voter registration status and making a plan to #TurnOUT and vote. HRC has already helped to register more than 28,000 voters.

WATCH: HRC also launched a video with social media influencer Jessie Paege and HRC National Press Secretary Sarah McBride showing how easy it to register to vote in only two minutes.

“HRC is working harder than ever to turn out Equality Voters and pull the emergency brake on the reckless, discriminatory agenda of Donald Trump and Mike Pence,” said HRC Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof. “As we face attack after attack on LGBTQ equality from the Trump-Pence Administration, it’s absolutely crucial that voters make a plan to vote and ensure we send a pro-equality majority to Congress this November.”

The full page ad doubles as a poster so that anyone can display it to proudly pledge their vote for equality.

For more than a year, HRC has been on the ground building support for pro-equality candidates with priority investments in six key states — Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — and in nearly 70 U.S. congressional districts across the country. The critically important work is a part of coast-to-coast campaign to mobilize voters for the midterm elections called HRC Rising, which represents the largest grassroots expansion in the organization’s 38-year history.

The estimated 10 million LGBTQ voters across the nation have proven to be one of the most important and effective voting blocs in the nation. And HRC and Catalist have expanded that pool by using sophisticated analytics to identify 52 million “Equality Voters”  — voters who support LGBTQ-inclusive policies including marriage equality, equitable family law, and laws that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

The immense power of LGBTQ voters and allies has been proven time and time again in recent years, including during the challenging 2016 cycle.  In a watershed moment for the LGBTQ community, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory was the only incumbent governor of either party to lose re-election and the only incumbent governor to lose re-election in North Carolina’s history — in large part due to his discriminatory, anti-LGBTQ HB2 law. The power of Equality Voters was also made crystal clear in 2017 when a wave of pro-equality and openly LGBTQ candidates were elected in states across the country. In Alabama, HRC-endorsed candidate Doug Jones claimed a historic victory over his opponent — the notoriously anti-LGBTQ politician Roy Moore. In Virginia, voters sent a resounding message rejecting the politics of hate and fear by electing pro-equality candidates up and down the ballot.

Supporters in any state can text “VOTER” to 30644 to verify their voter registration, find their polling place, and receive election reminders. For more information on how to get involved, sign up to volunteer, or join an advocacy training, visit HRC’s Equality Voter Action Center.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community.

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