First-of-its-Kind SMS Voter Education Program Deployed in Mississippi; Voter Registration Project Sees Early Success

JACKSON, Miss — The Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) launched an expansive Get-Out-The-Vote effort in key counties and communities this past weekend as part of DAGA’s effort to reach hundreds of thousands of Mississippi voters. In the final weeks leading up to Election Day, DAGA’s goal will be to knock 180,000+ doors. Additionally, Nevada AG Aaron Ford, the first African American elected to serve as AG in Nevada and a member of the DAGA Executive Committee, visited Mississippi during the program’s launch weekend to emphasize the importance of electing Jennifer Riley Collins as Attorney General and to energize the African American community.

“We’re putting the lessons learned from DAGA’s historic successes in 2018 to work for our 2019 races to ensure voters understand the importance of electing leaders like Colonel Jennifer Riley Collins in Mississippi,” said Jeremy Halbert-Harris, Deputy Political Director at the Democratic Attorneys General Association. “And we know that voter engagement and mobilization is critical in Mississippi—and DAGA is committed to getting out the vote.”

Turn-out in Mississippi is crucial to Democratic success at the ballot box. Mississippi has a constitutional requirement that requires a statewide candidate to win both more than 50% of the popular vote and 62 of the 122 state House Districts. This Jim Crow-era law is currently being challenged in court with assistance from former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.

DAGA’s GOTV effort is critical to Jennifer Riley Collins’ success on Election Day. DAGA invested in the Democratic Attorneys General Association Mississippi Voter Registration Project, which has already registered or seen updated registrations from more than 4,000 Mississippi voters across the state according to the Secretary of State’s data. The program estimates 10,000 Mississippi voters will participate once complete. As part of an overall voter engagement strategy, DAGA’s first-of-its kind voter education texting program has reached tens of thousands of Mississippians.

“With just under three weeks until Election Day, we are doing everything we can to drive our candidates’ name ID and ensure the electorate has the information they need as they head to the polls next month,” continued Halbert-Harris. “When voters know about the AG candidates—and where they stand on the issues that matter—the Democrat wins.”

This volunteer-to-voter texting program runs with support from Open Progress and oPro by Open Progress, a group that connects digital volunteers to progressive causes nationwide. Our joint program’s success began with a pilot in Virginia during the 2017 race, and grew to reach more than 5 Million voters across more than a dozen states in the 2018 election cycle.

DAGA partnered with “CampaignOS”, part of Civitech, in an effort to increase voter registration and participation in the state of Mississippi. The Democratic Attorneys General Association Mississippi Voter Registration Project sent out voter packets with pre-paid return envelopes to Mississippians across the state.