Souls to the Polls brings together people of all races and backgrounds in early voting

A coalition of local ministers, members of black Greek fraternities and sororities, Northeast Oklahoma City residents and even some politicians marched from Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church to the Oklahoma County Board of Elections last weekend to vote early in the 2024 presidential election.

The Souls to the Polls event began Saturday morning with a short rally at Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church, 1020 NE 42, where it has been held every two years since 2008. “Souls to the Polls” started as a tradition in African-American communities since the 1950s and 60s, when black churches and their communities came together to repel attempts at intimidation at the polls.

The Rev. Ray Douglas, senior pastor of Greater Mount Olive, said the march, often considered symbolic today, is held every two years to remind people that some of the dangers black people faced in the past still exist today.

“There was a time when, if you went to the polls alone, voter suppression tactics were more violent and deadly,” Douglas said. “And so we started going to the polls in droves, not just to vote, but to register to vote, because the numbers were safe.”

The rally outside the church brought together people of various races and backgrounds, including Lee Cooper, long-time pastor of Prospect Baptist Church.; in Reverend Tim Lushenthe leader of the “Malay Kvitka” Catholic Church; and Tamya Cox-Toureexecutive director of the ACLU of Oklahoma. Other local groups such as VOICE or Voices organized in public activismand the Concerned Clergy of Spiritual Renewal were also represented.

But Saturday’s crowd, estimated at less than 100 people, was smaller than previous events. Joshua Busby, Director of Social Justice Ministries at Greater Mount Olive, coordinated much of the rally and acknowledged that the event had lower attendance this year than Souls to the Polls in 2022, which he recalled drawing more than 200 people.

Busby believed several factors played a role, including a forecast of cooler and wetter rain, the church’s vote-by-mail education campaign and the long lines seen at polling places throughout the Oklahoma City metro area since early voting began statewide last year. Wednesday.

“They said it was about a 2-hour wait in line from the time you got in line to the time you could vote, which wasn’t too bad,” Busby said.

Still, the length of the line at the Oklahoma County Board of Elections, which at any given time Saturday had hundreds of people waiting until the polls closed at 2 p.m., likely caused many people who would normally attend the rally to go straight to the polling stations and secure your place in the queue.

But that didn’t faze Busby. He and several other members of Greater Mount Olive said they were happy to see the high turnout. Oklahoma has been ranked for years at the very bottom in the United States when it comes to voter participation — but by the end of the day Friday, a record 237,000 Oklahomans had voted early, according to state officials.

“I like the turnout,” Busby said. “We love the involvement of our community, everyone who has a voice, and we’re inspired by what we’re seeing.”

Randy Hunt and Patricia Watson-Hunt, retired teachers from Langston University and Oklahoma City Public Schools, respectivelywere among those who walked the NE 42 trail from the church to the polling place. Proudly representing their fraternities and sororities, Alpha Phi Alpha and Alpha Kappa Alpha, the couple carried placards emblazoned with their respective organizations’ symbols.

Watson-Hunt’s sign also bore the acronym “LEAD,” which stands for “learn, empower, advocate, and decide.”

“We believe in all people exercising their right to vote,” Watson-Hunt said. “We want to take the lead in this area and encourage everyone to vote.”

Her husband added that it is important that people vote not only during high-profile presidential races, but also in other elections.

“People without the right to vote are hopeless people,” said Randy Hunt. “We want to encourage voting at the local, state and national level every time (people) go out and vote.”

However, the main issue that concerned everyone was security. Cox-Toure informed the participants of the rally in the church about etiquette and decency when voting, giving them a phone number for the ACLU-supported voter advocacy hotline if they felt intimidation tactics were being used.

“If there’s any kind of voter intimidation … if you’re being told something and you just feel uncomfortable, we really encourage every Oklahoman to exercise that right (to vote), but most importantly, contact us,” Cox said – Tour . “Whether it’s lawyers or observers, we now have a direct hotline with the electoral commission and hopefully we can quell any incidents.”

Luschen, the leader of VOICE, said it is important to support people’s right to vote freely and without intimidation.

“As a pastor and spiritual leader, I know that our voice is part of our faith and that we can help shape the society we live in by using our voice,” Luschen said. “I pray that everyone listens to their conscience and that this is a safe weekend for everyone.”

Security was also Douglas’ top priority this election cycle, and so he encouraged his community to request mail-in ballots.

“I am concerned about the unrest and polarization that is happening across our country,” Douglas said. “I wish that when this election was over, we could go ahead and do what the American ideal stands for — freedom for the people, opportunity for all the people — and we could walk away from some of the vile and basic things that happened in this cycles”.

“My prayer is for peace.”