Comcast, Time Warner, Cox Communications, Inc. and Bright House Networks to support effort
PHILADELPHIA, PA (December 13, 2007) – Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSK, CMCSA), the nation’s leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services, in partnership with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People National Voter Fund (NAACP NVF), today announced the launch of “Our Time to Vote,” a year-long, non-partisan voter education and registration campaign designed to increase voting in African American communities served by the cable industry.
“Comcast recognizes that broader participation in the democratic process is important for our nation, and we are very pleased to launch this partnership to pursue that goal,” said Comcast Executive Vice President David L. Cohen. “This campaign reflects the cable industry’s commitment to strong local communities and to active public citizenship.”
The outreach to the African American community, part of an estimated $5 million multicultural campaign, consists of four public service announcements (PSAs), one of which features African American celebrities and leaders, such as Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Musiq Soulchild and National Urban League President Marc Morial, encouraging African American audiences to register to vote, as well as the creation and launch of two nationally available voter education resources: the www.ourtimetovote.com webpage, and a voter information resources hotline, 1.866.544.VOTE.
NAACP National Voter Fund Executive Director
Greg Moore Testifies before U.S. House of
Representatives Committee on House
Administration regarding the 2008
Presidential Elections
Click Here to Read Testimony of Greg Moore
Click Here to Watch Testimony of Greg Moore
Groups Step Up Efforts to Avert Voting Mishaps
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 9, 2008; Page A04
On her way to vote in Georgia's Feb. 5 Democratic primary, the usual music and celebrity gossip on Carcola Tippit's favorite radio show was set aside in favor of host Tom Joyner's repeated calls for listeners to report voting problems.
"Report any trickery! Call 1-866-MYVOTE1," implored Joyner, whose show is heard by 8 million listeners nationwide. "Let us know what's happening out there."
After waiting more than an hour in line, Tippit, 46, tapped the number into her cellphone. "This is crazy,"
she recalled telling the hotline's answering service. "Everybody was complaining. . . . People had to get out of line to go to work. It was a disaster."
Joyner's call-in line is at the center of an expansive effort -- run largely by African Americans independent of political parties and election officials -- to make sure every vote is counted in this year's elections. The NAACP National Voter Fund and the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation are also tracking voter complaints, and more than 1,000 lawyers have volunteered to staff polling places and call centers to guard against voter suppression.
So far, nearly 70,000 voters have reported problems, including extraordinarily long waits, a shortage of ballots, difficulties finding polling locations and being dropped from registration rolls.
Source: Washington Post. Com