(Newsweek) A coalition of prominent Muslim-American advocacy groups this morning are launching the Million Muslim Votes campaign, an unprecedented $1 million effort to find and persuade Muslims to participate in the 2020 general election.
Led by Emgage, a Washington D.C.-based group aimed at increasing Muslim-American political literacy and civic engagement, the campaign will focus on increasing turnout in several states with sizeable Muslim populations, Emgage CEO Wa’el Alzayat says.
“We believe getting the community to vote in a consistent manner and not just voting in presidential elections but for local, state and national offices, is a crucial ingredient to build political power,” Alzayat says. “In 2016, we saw that the scapegoating, demonization of the Muslim community was part and parcel of the electoral strategy of Trump. He was rewarded at the polls. We want to make sure that the Muslim community steps up and votes and gets its voice heard to let the country know how it feels about that.”
