The clock is ticking, we’re just days away from the general municipal election happening on April 6. A new mayor of St. Louis will be elected, along with three new members to the St. Louis Public School Board and a number of ballot issues that will directly affect city and county residents will be voted upon.
The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis (ULSTL) and the A.Philip Randolph Institute, a nonprofit funded by African American trade unionists dedicated to racial equality and economic justice, have joined forces through ULSTL’s Souls to the Polls initiative to provide voter education and mobilization efforts in preparation for the elections.
During these elections, the two organizations are working together to provide transportation for voters from now until the last hours of election day.
“It is critically important that everyone that cares about the future of the city of St. Louis, who is registered to vote, participates in this upcoming election on April 6,” said Michael McMillan, President of the Urban League of Metropolitan. “Choosing a new mayor, board of alderman members, and validating the city’s earning tax to maintain current services available to residents is exceptionally important for the future of our city and our region.”
Like most news that gets published on social media, the word spreads quickly and information gets out fast thanks to its power. McMillan feels the same can be done with the Souls to the Poll campaign.
“It is incredibly important that people remember to get out and vote, they need to get everyone to go with them, and they need to push out for a huge turnout because historically the April elections have a very small turnout,” McMillan said.
“For the school board election in the city of St. Louis, it’s important that we elect confident, qualified, capable candidates with strong leadership skills to work with Dr. Kelvin Adams, Superintendent of Schools for Saint Louis Public School District.”
Mary Wheeler-Jones, retired director of the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners, is back to lead Souls to the Poll. She thanks the efforts of Stacey Abrams, founder of voting rights organization Fair Fight, who helped register 800,000 Georgian residents to vote in last year’s presidential election, because she sees there’s a movement of young people getting more serious about having their voices heard.
“I see the young and the old coming together thinking you know what maybe my voice does count,” Wheeler-Jones said.” I hear people say now, it doesn’t count if I don’t vote, but if I do vote maybe it does count.”
Wheeler-Jones wants people to keep in mind the importance of voting in your local election race, because your local representative are the ones you can contact when problems arise city-wide.
“I always tell them you can’t call the President of the United States and say this is what’s going on in my community,” Wheeler-Jones said. “My grass is growing too high or there’s crime, but you can call your local mayor, you can call your alderman, you can call your state politician. I’ve always tried to reinforce to people that their local elections are just as important if not more important than your federal elections so you need to come out and vote.”
“We have to ask ourselves as African Americans do we wish to be a part of the process of deciding who will lead us or do we feel that we don’t have time and we don’t have the interest to determine and spend what is generally a 15 minute process to go vote,” McMillan said. “We need to vote like we absolutely appreciate, respect and honor the sacrifice of ancestors.”
ULSTL and APRI will provide rides for both city and county residents from now until the last hours of election day. If you require transportation to register or vote, call 314-562-0411.
Voters have until April 5 to cast absentee ballots in person. For more information on the election go to https://tinyurl.com/3z9sswnh and https://tinyurl.com/9j495p98.
