By Kenneth Mullinax/ASU
Alabama State University students turned out in large numbers on Sunday (Oct. 27) to conduct a "Get-Out-the-Vote" telephone bank. The volunteers gathered in the John Garrick Hardy Student Center Ballroom and called registered voters in Alabama's newly created second congressional district, encouraging them to vote in the general election, which will be held on Nov. 5.
More than 100 undergraduate students participated in the phone calls. Their two-hour effort reached thousands of voters in the second district which extends from Montgomery to Mobile.
The University's students were joined for brief comments by ASU President, Dr. Quinton T. Ross, Jr.; Shomari Figures, the Democratic nominee for the District-2 seat in the U.S. Congress; Alabama Congresswoman, Terri Sewell (D-District-7); and Texas Congresswoman, Jasmine Crockett (D-District-30). Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed was also in attendance.
President Ross, fresh from ASU's Magic City Classic football victory over Alabama A&M University, praised the students for their participation.
"We are here for a very special occasion which is speaking to the registered voters in District-2 and working to see that they vote in what may be one of the most important elections in modern political history," Ross said.
Figures also spoke about the importance of the student’s taking part in the phone bank.
"By you students being here today on a Sunday and calling voters in the newly formed District-2 in Congress and reminding them to vote on Nov. 5, is important to both the voters and for your future," Figures said. "By the mere fact that you are enrolled in The Alabama State University tells me that you care about democracy, which is important to all of us in Alabama and throughout the United States…by working together, we will shape the future in a positive way."
Congresswoman Crockett, an attorney who represents a large portion of the Dallas metro-area community since 2023, shared that the students and their fellow Gen - Z citizens, must do all they can to bring people to the polls to vote.
"We need you to not only talk to voters, but to get involved in posting the importance of voting on the Tik-Toc social media app," Crockett said. "You Gen - Z voters are among the most important folks voting in the upcoming general election and by doing so, you will help make sure that we are not bamboozled by the Republicans and don't go down the disastrous path that would take place if they get elected. I am here to ask you to support my friend Shomari Figures because with his election to the Congress, we come that much closer to taking back our majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as keeping a Democrat as President and in keeping our majority in the U.S. Senate. Together, we can accomplish great things."