Written by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A new organized effort to boost North Carolina minority voter turnout during the 2022 elections and beyond is underway.

The New North Carolina Project is modeled after a similar initiative in Georgia founded by former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.

The North Carolina organization aims to register over 100,000 voting-age adults and increase early-voting turnout dramatically next year. The group said with its formal launch this week that it’s already raised nearly $2 million since March.

Group Executive Director Aimy Steele, a former Democratic state House candidate, said the broader project wants “to support potential voters for life across the state.”

A separate nonprofit foundation linked to the New North Carolina Project is designed to connect long-term with Black, Hispanic, American Indian and other communities, in part by assisting residents with their personal needs and challenges.

Steele said the initiative will focus on reaching out to 29 rural eastern and Sandhills counties and portions of seven urban centers for 2022.

The project is “targeting stay-at-home eligible voters, hiring and engaging in their communities, and establishing a culturally competent organization that organizes year-round, locally, and speaks to their issues,” Steele said in a news release.

The project also said it will begin endorsing like-minded candidates early next year.

 

Photo via Chuck Burton/Associated Press.

 

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