Earth Day Network, NAACP National Voter Fund, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, League Of Conservation Voters Commit To Registering One Million New Voters Who Support Climate Change By 2016 Election
As part of Earth Day's 45th anniversary, these groups will work to activate a climate voter constituency - recruiting voters who expect local, state and nationally elected officials to advance climate policy.
Apr 17, 2015, 02:48 ET
WASHINGTON, April 17, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Earth Day Network is joined by NAACP National Voter Fund, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP) and League of Conservation Voters in announcing their commitment to register one million new voters who support climate change action by the 2016 election. This announcement comes in advance of Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day on April 18th at the National Mall.
"Focusing on minority and diverse communities, this partnership will activate a new generation of climate voters," said Kathleen Rogers, President of Earth Day Network. "Creating a climate narrative within voter mindsets encourages citizens to think about the risks associated with climate change when they cast their ballot," continued Rogers.
Earth Day Network will focus more on door-to-door campaigning, spending time to educate newly registered voters on climate change issues. Additionally, contributions from the organizations include direct mail campaigns to reach communities.
"The NAACP National Voter Fund is proud to once again stand with the Earth Day Network and fight for our planet's future," said Greg Moore, NAACP National Voter Fund Executive Director. "In order to truly achieve our goals, we need every person to have a voice in our democracy, to stand up with us and fight for climate change as well as voting rights legislation. Our children and grandchildren depend on it."
"Greater voter participation is the key to overcoming special interests, so our goal is to make election day an Earth Day too. That's why the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund is proud to join with our partners in this pledge to register one million Americans ahead of the 2016 election," said Gene Karpinski, President of LCV.
The coalition will target under-represented communities – with a focus on battleground states like Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
"The Million Voter Mobilization effort is the exciting next step for the partnership between Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP), League of Conservation Voters (LCV), Earth Day Network and NAACP Voter Fund. SVREP will massively mobilize voters where Latinos can make a difference in 2016," said Antonio González, SVREP President. "Accountability, hope, opportunity, and justice are the values that motivate Latino participation and will be at the heart of SVREP messaging," continued González.
More announcements of commitments from world leaders and global organizations to solve climate change and end extreme poverty will be announced at the Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day event this Saturday.
EARTH DAY NETWORK:
The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, activated 20 million Americans from all walks of life and is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement. Growing out of the first Earth Day, EDN works with tens of thousands of partners in 192 countries to broaden, diversify and mobilize the environmental movement. More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world. Visit www.earthday.org
LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS EDUCATION FUND:
LCV Education Fund's State Capacity Building division elevates the profiles of environmental issues in every state. Across the nation, state leagues are growing and celebrating victories for the environment. Visit www.lcvef.org
SOUTHWEST VOTER REGISTRATION EDUCATION PROJECT:
SVREP was founded in 1974, and it's the largest and oldest non-partisan Latino voter participation organization in the United States. SVREP's mission is to empower Latinos and other minorities by increasing their participation in the American democratic process. Visit www.svrep.org
NAACP NATIONAL VOTER FUND:
In 2000, the NAACP created the National Voter Fund (NVF) as it sought dynamic new ways to aggressively communicate its views on critical social issues of the day regarding voting rights. NVF was established as a free-standing 501C (4) corporation to engage in civic participation and community-based mobilization efforts through education and awareness campaigns surrounding key issues in communities of color. Visit www.naacpnvf.net
Contact: Bridgette Borst
[email protected]
Mobile: (304) 546-3788
Office: (703) 302-8385
SOURCE Earth Day Network