Page 22 - Florida Sentinel 10-26-20

Feature
Florida AKAs Tackle Rural Voter Turnout, And Push Early Voting
Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
BY JODI YONDER
TALLAHASSEE --- Florida is fa- mous for its razor thin statewide election margins. And for the last twenty years, the nail-biting phe- nomenon has been the only cer- tainty voters and candidates are assured of when all the ballots are counted.
In Election 2020, the Florida chapters of the nation’s oldest African American Greek Sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, has launched an effort to increase Black voter partic- ipation in rural counties with signif- icant Black voter population.
Around 50 rural counties have made the difference in the outcomes of major races. In 2018, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew
GAYLE ANDREWS Chairman, Capitol City Connection
Gillum lost to Governor Ron De- Santis by just over 30,000 votes.
But for U. S. Senator Bill Nel- son, a Democrat, the loss by around 10,000 votes to former Governor Rick Scott, after a recount, was stunning. In both races, Black turnout in the overlooked rural counties could have made the differ- ence.
Capitol City Connection Chair- men Gayle Andrews, of Delta Kappa Omega and Gina Hender- son of Chi Upsilon Omega were guided by the sorority’s national mandate, “AKAs LEAD” to the Polls to develop virtual rallies, Florida AKA’s Stroll to the Polls. Florida Connection Coordinator Veronica E. Phillips and Florida South At- lantic Regional Representative to the International Connection Commit- tee Sylvia Sloane Jones provided leadership in the mobilization of 37 chapters that have adopted rural
counties for phone banking during early voting in Florida from October 19 – November 1.
“The Alpha Kappa Alpha mantra is ‘Service to All Mankind.’ That has not changed in 112 years. Our focus on humanity equates to improving quality of life. Participating in democracy achieves that end. Partic- ipation in the democratic process is the path to progress. And we will LEAD in 2020,” according to South Atlantic Regional Director Carolyn Gause Randolph.
The Florida AKAs are planning two virtual rallies. ‘The Old School’ on October 17, and the Hip Hop For Millennials on October 24.
The Sunshine State Sorors also produced an infomercial on voting early by mail. The Florida AKAs are the first Black Greek sorority to ini- tiate a coordinated campaign effort in Florida, a major battleground state.
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