Today, GLAAD announced it is launching 100 Days of Action in the run up to Election Day, November 3.
In an op-ed published by The Advocate, GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis laid out the stakes for LGBTQ people this election. GLAAD is calling on all LGBTQ people, our friends and allies to register and vote for candidates who will protect the LGBTQ community and the most marginalized among us.
Exit polls during the 2018 midterm elections – when a pro-equality majority took control of the House and a rainbow wave of LGBTQ candidates were elected – indicate that 6 percent of the overall voting electorate identified as LGBTQ. Of that 6 percent, 82 percent supported pro-equality candidates. Meanwhile, a study released in November 2019 from the Williams Institute indicates that 21 percent – more than one in five – of LGBTQ voters are NOT registered.
Every day, GLAAD will call on the LGBTQ community and our allies to take action. Today, on the launch, the action is to take the pledge to vote at glaad.org/action. We will be highlighting the stakes for the LGBTQ community through the lens of communities of color, the Latinx community, youth, and our vast network of GLAAD Media Institute alumni.
GLAAD’s News and Rapid Response will continue to highlight LGBTQ-related news, demonstrating the impact the election will have on everyday lives in states around the country. Already, GLAAD’s Trump Accountability Project has been tracking over 160 attacks from the Trump administration over the last three years.
GLAAD is calling on our followers to take action every day between now and the election. Follow GLAAD’s social media for a daily action. And if you need to get started, Sarah Kate Ellis has three simple steps.
But nothing will change if we don’t do our part. As we begin this hundred-day countdown, I call on everyone in our community to commit to doing three critical things. Number one, make sure you are registered to vote. Number two, talk to ten people you know and let them know how this election impacts you as an LGBTQ person or impacts an LGBTQ person you love. Number three – and if you don’t do this nothing else matters – show up to vote.
Visit glaad.org/action to take the pledge to vote today and join GLAAD in our 100 days of action. To learn more, sign up for an upcoming GLAAD Media Institute course 2020 Election Engagement for LGBTQ Equality.