RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – Virginia Democrats have launched “The Majority Project,” an early-voting campaign touted as the “biggest, earliest voter turnout project” in state legislative history that aims to counter a similar initiative unveiled by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and state Republicans.
The seven-figure project aims to boost Democratic absentee and early voting for the 2023 Virginia General Assembly elections in November, crucial contests that will determine which party controls the legislature next year.
The program, which began work in May but formally launched Thursday, has sent more than 100 staffers to state legislative districts across Virginia.
“The Virginia Democrats’ campaign launched on a scale that has never been seen before in the Commonwealth,” House Minority Leader Don L. Scott Jr. (D-Portsmouth) said in a statement.
The coordinated effort from the House Democratic Caucus, Senate Democratic Caucus and the Democratic Party of Virginia includes a “relational organizing” and field program with staffers going door-to-door and calling potential voters to increase early and absentee voting.
“Democrats have been ahead of the curve on early and absentee voting for years now, and that is because we are investing in people over corporations and standing up for women’s rights and the rights of Virginians all across the Commonwealth,” Scott added.
“The Majority Project” comes on the heels of a new Republican effort led by Gov. Youngkin to help boost early and absentee voting among GOP voters in the Nov. 7 elections, an initiative Del. Scott called “blatant hypocrisy.”
Republicans’ “Secure Your Vote Virginia” website drew criticism from Democrats who pointed to GOP efforts this year to restrict early voting in the state, including failed proposals to ban ballot drop boxes and shorten the window for early in-person voting to two weeks.
State Sen. Mamie E. Locke (D-Hampton), chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus, reiterated those views in a statement Thursday.
“Senate Democrats are meeting voters at their doors on these key issues such as protecting reproductive rights, funding our public schools and our teachers, and preventing gun violence,” Sen. Locke said. “Secure your vote is a fallacy because MAGA Republicans are determined to take away these very rights.”
All 140 General Assembly seats are on the line in the Nov. 7 elections, making this year’s campaign season pivotal to both parties’ plans to seize control of the state legislature. Democrats control the state Senate and Republicans have a majority in the House of Delegates.
“Virginians are motivated to show up and elect legislators who will safeguard access to abortion, fully fund our public schools, and fight for hardworking Virginians,” Democratic Caucus Chair Charniele Herring (D-Alexandria) said in a statement.