Black Legislators Launch Stay Woke Go Vote To Counteract DeSantis's Actions

By Johania Charles Miami Times Staff Writer (Courtesy of Shevrin Jones’ Office) (Courtesy of Felicia Robinson), the Miami Times

May 31, 2022

Frustration over an appeals court decision to reinstate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ controversial congressional map has pushed a group of elected officials to launch a one-of-a-kind get out the vote campaign led entirely by the state’s Black legislators.

Stay Woke Go Vote, which officially launched at a rally in Broward County May 21, is an effort to persuade Black voters to turn out in record numbers in 2022 despite a series of laws that impose new voting restrictions this election cycle.

Presenting a united front, the Black lawmakers say they are responding to a duty to act as the first line of defense when rights are infringed upon and sound the alarm for their constituents.

“We want to one, put the people on notice [about] where the priorities of the state of Florida are at,” said State Sen. Shevrin Jones. “[And] make sure that people are clear that voting laws have changed … and to convey a message to people that the Black vote is under attack.”

Sen. Shevrin Jones speaks to a crowd at a Stay Woke Go Vote rally at Miramar City Hall.

(Courtesy of Shevrin Jones’ Office)

With Juneteenth celebrations right around the corner, the group will leverage local events in their respective districts to get people to register to vote, and check or update their voter status.

The effort is a collaboration between lawmakers, the NAACP, National Council of Negro Women, Faith in Florida and Equal Ground, a civic engagement organization working to increase voting and education access for voters along Interstate 4.

“Too often we’ve worked in silos when it comes to engaging and turning out Black voters,” said Genesis Robinson, Equal Ground political director. “And so this is just an attempt for state legislators to work with Black-led organizations and individuals who desire to see an increase in civic participation from the Black community.”

After House Democrats shut down a special session in April for a sit-in protesting the congressional map, Jones initially spoke with Reps. Angie Nixon, Michele Rayner and Travaris McCurdy to brainstorm other actions before eventually contacting Equal Ground to launch the campaign.

Rep. Felicia Robinson addresses voters at the Stay Woke Go Vote rally in Miramar, Fla.

(Courtesy of Felicia Robinson)

“What was the most disturbing to me is that we had to [resort] to doing the same thing John Lewis and so many other people have already done to give us these rights,” said District 102 Rep. Felicia Robinson, no relation to Genesis. “We’re here in 2022 and still have to do things like that. It’s like [Republican lawmakers are] trying to take us back to a time that we thought we had overcome.”

The difference between winning & losing

The Broward rally at Miramar City Hall was the first call to action encouraging voters to use the ballot box to realize the change they want to see, and educate themselves on the new voting laws to ensure no obstacles stand in their way to vote in the fall.

“I wouldn’t say that this (get out the vote) effort is any greater than other efforts that have happened,” Jones told The Miami Times. “What we have done is [invite] Black elected officials to be the ones to lead the charge … Not parachuting people in from other areas, but South Florida elected officials galvanizing South Florida constituents [and so on].”

Dozens of people gathered on the steps of City Hall to hear from elected officials representing Miami Gardens, Hollywood, North Miami and even Fort Lauderdale. Rallies were also held in Duval, Alachua, Hillsborough, Palm Beach and Orange counties to mark the start of the statewide campaign.

Genesis Robinson, Equal Ground Political Director

“It was very symbolic,” said Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam, recalling moments from the rally. “Miramar is the largest Black-populated city in Broward County. It has the potential to play a leadership role as it relates to mobilizing the turnout of Black voters in Broward County. We’re not taking the 2022 election for granted.”

Messam, who like many of the lawmakers within the effort is a Democrat, said the county has seen some success in galvanizing voter turnout but admits that there is always room for improvement.

“If Broward as a whole can increase turnout by 2%, I think that’s about 100,000 more votes,” he explained. “How many elections have been determined by less than 100,000 votes in the state of Florida?”

“We have to try to look at this as recognizing that every individual action or effort is tied into a larger picture,” said Genesis Robinson. “There wouldn’t be a need to petition the legislature to protect [the Black vote] if you had people in office who cared about voting rights … We know this is a long road but it’s about activating our community and moving in the right direction.”

Rep. Robinson said early signs to restrict the rights of Black and brown people following the 2020 elections started with HB 1, the Combating Public Disorder bill that invites serious consequences for demonstrators who participate in a protest that turns violent.

Activists have condemned it as an attempt to undermine the First Amendment and penalize groups that took to the streets in response to George Floyd two years ago.

Since then, bills have passed to restrict vote-by-mail, decrease the number of drop boxes, enforce a new police unit to investigate alleged election crimes, change form requirements for voter registration and implement a list maintenance system that removes inactive voters from Florida rolls.

Renewed suppression efforts

Floridians will now have to check their voting status and request vote-by-mail ballots ahead of each election cycle instead of making requests years in advance.

“Because of the 2020 elections, we saw that Black people would rather vote by mail than at the ballot box,” said Jones. “So why not galvanize around [something] we know works for our community?”

Hoping to meet a vote-by-mail sign-up goal of 40,000 people across the state, Jones said volunteers and members of his Operation Blackout effort will go door-to-door and use digital means to reach low-propensity voters across the state.

“These laws seem to be a direct attack against the many battles that have been won over the years as it relates to access to vote,” said Messam.

Genesis Robinson said the Stay Woke Go Vote campaign, in addition to individual efforts, is the last line of defense in a state with a 20-year history of passing suppressive voter tactics.

Third-party organizations like Equal Ground say the new registration forms, requiring a social security or driver’s license number, can make voters hesitant to share sensitive information with groups hoping to meet registration goals for voter turnout efforts.

“The last straw was when they passed SB 2C, which is the congressional redistricting map,” explained Genesis Robinson. “That particular legislation has now eliminated 50% of Black voting districts for Congress. If we don’t have our voice to vote and a chance to be at the table, then we truly don’t have anything.”

“Under this governor’s leadership and working with Republican legislators, great harm has been done to communities of color,” he continued. “There’s been attacks on our right to vote, there’s been attacks on who we can have represent us in Congress, and then there’s been attacks on what we can learn and say in a classroom.”

Congresswoman Val Demings

Rep. Val Demings, whose congressional district was impacted by DeSantis’ map, said winning her race for U.S. Senate against incumbent Marco Rubio would require voters to show up in droves.

She recalled how important voting was to her hardworking parents who saw it as an opportunity to have their voices heard to create a government for and by the people.

“No matter how many hours my parents, a maid and a janitor, worked that week, or how tired they were, come Election Day, they always made their way to the polls because it mattered to them,” she told The Miami Times.

That is the same zeal Black legislators are hoping to draw out of voters through Stay Woke Go Vote, promising to engage residents collectively through the campaign.

“It might take a couple of cycles before we can truly say that our efforts are working,” admitted Jones. “[But] we have to be committed to the long game in all of this. It took time for the Republicans to take over the House in the Senate in Tallahassee.”

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