According to a study released by the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival at an online national press conference on October 15, poor and low-income people accounted for more than a third of all voters overall in the 2020 presidential election, and their turnout was especially strong in tight battleground states. The study, titled “Waking the Sleeping Giant: Low-Income Voters and the 2020 Elections” shows that of the 168 million people who voted in 2020, 59 million — 35% — were poor or low-income. The 2020 presidential elections saw the highest voter turnout in U.S. election history, including among low-income voters. As stated in the executive summary: “This cuts against common misperceptions that poor and low-income people are apathetic about politics or inconsequential to electoral outcomes.”
The press conference kicked off the virtual Poor People’s Moral Action Congress: Building Power: Organizing from the Bottom Up, and was followed on October 18 with a National Town Hall, “It’s Time for a Third Reconstruction.” The Town Hall featured Poor People’s Campaign Co-Chairs Rev. Dr. William Barber II and Rev. Dr Liz Theoharis as well as Representatives Pramila Jaypal and Barbara Lee, initial co-sponsors of “Third Reconstruction: Fully Addressing Poverty and Low Wages From the Bottom Up,” H. Res. 438.
In H. Res 438, Congress commits to heal the Nation, beginning over the next two years, including by …. demilitarizing U.S. foreign policy, borders and policing….including by cutting military spending by at least 10%,…ending forever wars…repealing existing authorizations of use of military force….restoring Congress’ war powers….pursuing diplomacy over war….moving toward nuclear disarmament and curtailing the use of broad economic sanctions that create mass suffering….repealing programs that provide military equipment and training to domestic law enforcement agencies….and redirecting these resources to fully address systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation and militarism. Read more.
The Moral Action Congress was held to prepare organizers for the Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington that will take place on June 18, 2022. United for Peace and Justice is proud to be a national mobilizing partner with the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. Sign up for the Poor People’s Campaign and find your State Committee here.
