August 26, 2020

LeBron James Just Launched a Multimillion-Dollar Fight Against Voter Suppression in Battleground Districts

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If King James’ crossovers and dunks on Donald Trump in tweets and press statements weren’t enough to mobilize voters, the NBA star has another move: He’s leading a group of top athletes to fight voter suppression in heavily Black districts before the election. Collaborating with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, he launched the group More Than a Vote, focusing on Ohio, Georgia, Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, and other states beset by disenfranchisement and disinformation.

Most poll workers are over 60, and many states are looking for younger recruits to join them. More Than a Vote plans to bring aboard paid workers and volunteers of all ages while prioritizing poll safety during the pandemic. The details are here. If you’re a poll worker in one of these states and want a shoutout, or have stories or concerns about ballot access, let us know at recharge@motherjones.com.

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We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

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Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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