Michelle Obama issued a recruiting call for volunteers across the country on Friday, urging Americans to organize behind local and municipal election candidates and stressing in an email that there is no such thing as an “off” year in U.S. politics.
In an email on behalf of her nonpartisan voter initiative When We All Vote, Obama urged activists to remember the high levels of voter turnout in the 2018 midterms.
{mosads}”Remember how inspired we felt four months ago? How more Americans than ever before participated in a midterm election? How young people turned out to vote in record numbers, and how so many Americans cast their ballot for the first time in their lives?” Obama asked.
“It’s time to do it again in 2019. There are no ‘off’ years when it comes to being a voter,” the former first lady continued. “I’ve always said that voting isn’t just about presidential elections — it’s about every election at every level.”
When We All Vote is a nonpartisan organization focused on increasing voter turnout, and is led by several former members of the Obama administration, such as former senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett.
Obama hosted voter registration events in Las Vegas and Miami for the group last year just weeks before the midterm elections.
Other co-chairs of the group include singer Janelle Monae and country musicians Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.
“We all have to vote in every single election: for mayor, governor, school board, state legislature and Congress,” Obama said upon launching When We All Vote. “Voting is the only way to ensure that our values and priorities are represented in the halls of power. And it’s not enough to just vote for president every four years.”
“So the future of our families, our communities and our country belongs to those of us who show up, cast our votes, and make our voices heard,” she added at the time.