The group is being led by Democratic Senator Joyce Elliott.
Arkansas had the lowest voter turnout in the country in 2020, according to a report from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. To engage more voters in the election process, State Senator Joyce Elliott today announced the launch of Get Loud Arkansas! The mission of the nonprofit organization is to register new voters, engage low propensity voters and mobilize all eligible voters to use the power of their vote to shape the future of Arkansas, according to a press release.
In a video shared on social media, Sen. Elliott said there has been a growing attack on free and fair elections in recent years. In addition to systems being “corrupted by big money donors and powerful special interest groups,” voters’ voices are being silenced by coordinated efforts to restrict the right to vote, she said.
“Every eligible Arkansan has the right to cast a ballot and make their voice heard,” Elliott said. “Your voice matters, your vote matters. If it didn’t, they wouldn’t work so hard to take it away.”
Sen. Elliott served three terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives before being elected to the Senate in 2008. She will not be eligible to seek re-election in 2022 due to term limits on state legislators.
Get Loud Arkansas! is the latest organization to be created with the goal of engaging voters. Following an unsuccessful bid for Arkansas Senate in 2020, Keidra Burrell created Fight Forward Arkansas, a nonpartisan nonprofit working to register and activate new Arkansas voters.
Burrell, along with representatives from Little Rock Freedom Fund and the Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas, recently discussed efforts to register and educate minority voters on an episode of our Affirmative Action podcast, which you can listen to here.
More information about Get Loud Arkansas! is available at www.getloudarkansas.org.