Page 8 The Skanner August 8, 2018
News
Michelle Obama Joins Voter Registration Drive for the Midterms
ormer First Lady
Michelle Obama is
featured in a video
along with celebri-
ties Tom Hanks, Janelle
Monáe, Faith Hill, Tim
McGraw and Lin-Manu-
el Miranda to encourage
people to register and
vote.
In less than 100 days,
the midterm elections
that will either expand
President Trump’s pow-
er or greatly restrict it,
will take place on No-
vember 6. There has
been much talk about
the likelihood of a “blue
wave” that could give
Democrats the gavel and
investigative power in
Congress over the next
two years of Trump’s
presidency. The underly-
ing urgency of Michelle
Obama’s message is an
unspoken aspect of her
new registration effort.
The name of the new ef-
fort, “When We All Vote,”
F
is also an indication that
the former first lady is
well aware of the fact
that higher voter turn-
out usually leads to Dem-
“
the former President
announced that he is en-
dorsing 81 Democratic
candidates on the ballot
this November.
The effort is also a challenge
to registered voters to par-
ticipate in elections ‘both big
and small’
ocratic victories at the
polls. The effort is also a
challenge to registered
voters to participate in
elections “both big and
small.” Though the effort
is billed as “non-parti-
san,” the sense of urgen-
cy about the country’s di-
rection under President
Trump’s leadership is an
unavoidable backdrop.
Several live events are
also expected as part of
the effort between now
and election day.
Former
President
Barack Obama is expect-
ed to hit the campaign
trail to assist Democrats
who are looking to take
back the House and Sen-
ate in 2019. On July 31,
There is a record num-
ber of women on the
ballot this year. Many of
the endorsements for-
mer President Obama
has focused on were can-
didates who worked in
his administration, like
Colin Allred, Lauren Un-
derwood and Richard
Cordray.
The Obamas have been
relatively quiet since de-
parting the White House
in early 2017, but that
is likely to change. The
former president and
the former first lady’s
launch of “When We All
Vote” is likely to be only
the first of several post
White House efforts they
will participate in.
BOB NICHOLS/USDA/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
By Lauren Victoria
Burke , NNPA Newswire
Contributor
Former First Lady Michelle Obama has joined a number of actors, musicians and professional athletes to
encourage people to register and vote. In this photo, First Lady Michelle Obama thanks U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) employees for their service and dedication at the Jefferson Auditorium, USDA on
Friday, May 3, 2013.
“I’m confident that, to-
gether, they’ll strengthen
this country we love by
restoring opportunity
that’s broadly shared, re-
pairing our alliances and
standing in the world,
and upholding our fun-
damental commitment to
justice, fairness, respon-
sibility, and the rule of
law,” Obama wrote in his
endorsement statement.
Lauren Victoria Burke
is an independent jour-
nalist, political analyst
and contributor to the
NNPA Newswire and
B l a c k P re s s U S A .c o m .
You can reach Lauren
by email at LBurke007@
gmail.com and on Twitter
at @LVBurke.
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