Professor Richardson notes LeBron James’ efforts when it comes to the November election (link unavailable for technical reasons):
Basketball superstar LeBron James has started a group to protect black voting, along with a number of other African American athletes and entertainers. James has said the organization, “More Than A Vote,” will not just work with other voting rights organizations to register voters, but will explain to new voters how the process works and what sorts of obstacles they will face. James says he will use his strong social media platform to combat voter suppression, a major issue in the upcoming election.
But leaning on that platform is limiting. It’s necessary to reach out to voters who are not online, or not James fans, or this will be a failure. We need to think about education, not only beforehand but at the polling places. Large, hand held signs could be printed that summarize what a voter facing a broken machine must do. Perhaps a booth, non-partisan, that gives directions on how to vote, but not for whom.
A little creativity could go a long ways.
