Sikh Coalition Launches Program to Engage 25,000 Sikh Voters Before Pivotal U.S. Election
September 17, 2020 — Following last night’s successful panel discussion ਸਾਡੀ ਆਵਾਜ਼ ਸੁਣੋ: Your Vote is Your Voice, the Sikh Coalition is proud to announce a groundbreaking new phone banking initiative aimed at contacting approximately 25,000 Sikh voters in key ‘swing’ states in advance of the U.S. elections on November 3, 2020.
More than 50 sevadaars have already volunteered to help the Sikh American community turn out to vote when it matters most, but we need hundreds more to join the effort in order to reach our ambitious goal. Anyone interested in volunteering can complete the screening survey and sign up for at least one of four available sessions today. Phone banking will take place weekly, on Saturdays, from September 27 to October 17.
“Phone banking is a critical step in GOTV (Get Out The Vote) work where volunteers call voters to remind them of the upcoming election and answer questions,” explained Nikki Singh, Sikh Coalition Policy and Advocacy Manager. “Through this initiative, sevadaars will directly connect with thousands of Sikh households in key ‘swing’ states like Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, and Texas.”
Sevadaars will be calling thousands of Sikh households–a list curated in consultation with data scientists over the past six months–to provide them with non-partisan information about the upcoming elections. The sessions will be done remotely via Zoom; participants need not live in one of these states, and all who attend will receive a tailored virtual training on how to make calls and then have access to real time support from Sikh Coalition staff as they reach out to voters.
“Voting is both our civic responsibility and the best way for our community to build political power in 2020 and beyond,” said Hoboken, NJ Mayor Ravi Balla, who participated in last night’s panel discussion ਸਾਡੀ ਆਵਾਜ਼ ਸੁਣੋ: Your Vote is Your Voice. “The first step, though, is just getting Sikh Americans to the polls. Phone banking is the best way to make that happen, so sevadaars can be the ones to inform their fellow Sikhs about how to make sure their voices are heard this fall.” You can watch the full panel discussion here.
To date, the Sikh Coalition has recruited more than 100 sevadaars in 23 different states to provide direct resources and voter registration information to their local communities. The Sikh Coalition has also provided a platform for any voter to check their voter registration and learn about rules, candidates, and deadlines in their area for free; a comprehensive resource on options to vote by mail; and a policy brief for the Trump and Biden campaigns outlining Sikh civil rights issues of concern to the Sikh American community. Please continue to review our website for more information about voting and