Launching Repairers Educational Voter Uplift Project (“REV-UP”)
Contact: Yolanda Barksdale | ybarksdale@breachrepairers.org | Joy Cook | joy@joycookpr.com
As Early Voting Begins in N.C., Bishop Barber and Partners Announce New Voter Mobilization Organization and Joint Statewide Campaign to Unleash the Untapped Power of Poor, Low-Wealth, and Low-Income Voters in the State
VOTERS FROM ACROSS N.C. JOINED VOLUNTEERS AND MORAL MOVEMENT LEADERS TO UNVEIL REV-UP, A NEW, NON-PARTISAN ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO MOBILIZING THE POWER OF THE MILLIONS OF POOR, LOW-WEALTH, AND LOW-INCOME VOTERS IN THE STATE AND JOIN TOGETHER FOR MASS STATEWIDE MOBILIZATION IN 2022.
Thursday, October 20, 2022 - Raleigh, NC: On the first day of the state’s early voting period, Bishop Dr. William J. Barber II joined with a broad coalition of leaders, grass-roots organizers, and voters at First Baptist Church in Raleigh (101 South Wilmington Street) to unveil the newest addition to their “moral movement” efforts. Repairers Educational Voter Uplift Project (“REV-UP”) was founded to activate the untapped power of poor, low-wealth, and low-income voters to shape the local and national policy agenda in a way that directly addresses their needs. During the press conference, REV-UP’s Executive Director, Andrew Simpson, emphasized the extent to which the electoral power of poor, low-wealth, and low-income voters is consistently overlooked by those running for local, state, and federal office. Bishop Barber, voting rights attorneys, faith leaders, workers, and voters impacted by the interlocking injustices of poverty and racism, announced their commitment to massive statewide mobilization until November 8 to elect and hold accountable leaders dedicated to fighting poverty, saving our democracy, and lifting society from the bottom up.
Bishop Barber said, “After all this movement has done to defend our constitutional right to early voting here in North Carolina, this is no time to be apathetic! Today, on the first day of early voting, we’re announcing REV-UP, a new initiative committed to reshaping our nation’s distorted policy priorities to focus on the needs of the country’s 80 million poor, low-wealth, and low-income voters. In a state like North Carolina, those voters make up 45% of the electorate. One thing is for sure: when we mobilize poor and low wealth voters, their advocates, and other people who care–that’s a power block that can shift the electorate. We will leave no stone unturned, no tool unused, and no voter left behind as we fight to save this impoverished democracy from the bottom up.”
Thursday’s press conference was the kick-off debut to this historic expansion of the decade’s-long “moral movement,” with partners representing sponsor organizations in attendance, and emphasizing the imminent need for voter mobilization organization like REV-UP.
“REV-UP is laser-focused on building power and elevating the quality of life among poor, low-wealth, and low-wage communities,” stated Simpson. “Forged in the mold of moral fusion, this movement is bringing together diverse groups of North Carolinians who are united in their demands that elected leaders take bold action to fight poverty and restore our democracy. The early vote turnout in these midterms will have profound repercussions across the Tar Heel State, especially among those who are struggling financially. That’s exactly why REV-UP has hit the ground running this year, reaching out to voters in areas of the state that both parties have long abandoned.”
According to the recent study, “Waking the Sleeping Giant: Low-Income Voters and the 2020 Elections” approximately 3.4 million poor and low-income North Carolinians were eligible to vote in 2020. However, one out of every three of those voters failed to show up to the polls during the 2020 presidential election. These striking data demonstrate the unparalleled–and largely untapped–electoral power poor and low-wage voters have to shape the present and future of North Carolina’s political landscape.
Leaders from the Unlock Our Vote NC Campaign joined Rev-Up for the historic announcement. Ashley Marshall, Daryl Atkinson and Caitlin Swain, Co-Directors of Forward Justice Action Network explained: “This is a long-term, people-centered project that will build lasting change by drawing close to those closest to the problems created by poverty. North Carolina will make history this year as we welcome into the electorate more than 56,000 newly enfranchised second-chance voters in an historic expansion of the right to vote. This movement fought to free the vote from relentless attacks on our democracy, and we will use every tool at our disposal to ensure every vote is counted and protected in this election and the full voice of the people of this state is heard.”
REV-UP’s organizing and advocacy approach is rooted in a long-term relational model focused on elevating local leaders from within under-resourced communities where voters are increasingly overlooked and ignored. In concert with moral movement partners, REV-UP’s impact will be aimed not only at affecting electoral outcomes but also engaging the hundreds of thousands poor North Carolinians to take collective action at the local and federal level. REV-UP will be organizing state-wide coalitions of poor, low-wealth, and low-income constituents around specific policy issues; empowering whole communities to remind elected officials that their votes are not tokens of support, but demands to take urgent action on behalf of the 45% of North Carolinians who are struggling to make ends meet.
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