Suns’ Chris Paul joins Michelle Obama in video encouraging Black voter turnout
Sep 17, 2022, 9:18 AM
Chris Paul speaks onstage during the 2022 Essence Festival of Culture at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 1, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)
(Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)
Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul has been an activist in Black voter turnout over the years, and his advocacy continued on National Black Voter Day.
On Friday, Paul and Michelle Obama teamed up in a video encouraging people to vote in November’s midterm elections even with the challenges.
It’s #NationalBlackVoterDay — a day all about recognizing our power and making our voices heard! I’m teaming up with @MichelleObama, @BET, and @WhenWeAllVote to make sure YOU are ready to cast your ballot. Head to https://t.co/ZQr0YOmvws to check your voter registration status ✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/YQmBB8T0U4
— Chris Paul (@CP3) September 16, 2022
“We’re seeing polling places closed down, early voting hours being cut, folks being purged from the voting rolls,” Paul said in the video. “Who would have thought that in 2022, our right to vote would still be under threat? But here we are. Luckily, we still have the chance to show up and show that the power still lies in our hands.”
He referred to a slew of voter restriction laws that a number of states have passed since 2020.
Paul is a co-chair of When We All Vote, an initiative founded by Obama to increase voter participation. Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors is a fellow co-chair.
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The call to action in the video was for people to visit When We All Vote’s website to check their voter registration statuses and encourage friends to do the same.
“Because when we all work together, we can make our voices heard,” Paul said.
In 2020, Paul led a group of nearly 2,500 people on a march to an early-voting site at Winston-Salem State University in his home state of North Carolina.
