Women have been defending the right to vote for more than 100 years. And with the suffragette’s movement celebrating its centennial this week, When We All Vote, the bipartisan voting organization founded by former First Lady Michelle Obama, decided to throw a party with Meghan Markle as one of its special hosts. The Duchess of Sussex will be joining When We All Vote Board Chair and United State of Women Cochair Valerie Jarrett, as well as actress Yvette Nicole Brown, for the special event.
The When All Women Vote virtual couch party will be the culminating event of a weeklong turnup aimed at getting women energized for the upcoming November election. “The Week of Action, which began on Monday, August 17, and will stretch through Thursday, August 20, focuses on voter registration and turnout, and celebrating the women of color who have fought and continue to fight for their right to vote since the amendment’s passage,” a press release for the event shared.
Since November, When We All Vote has been organizing regular events to energize potential voters. Life in quarantine has not stopped the show. In addition to reaching more than 615,000 eligible voters through their efforts, When We All Vote has trained hundreds of volunteers on how to effectively register first-time voters. They’ve even gotten high school students in on the action.
Obama has been very hands-on in getting the message out that 2020 will be the most consequential elections of our lifetime. As COVID-19 continues to upend families, businesses and communities, she made it clear during her DNC keynote on Monday that sitting home is not an option.
“This is not the time to withhold our votes in protest or play games with candidates who have no chance of winning. We have got to vote like we did in 2008 and 2012,” Obama said. “We’ve got to vote early, in person if we can. We’ve got to request our mail-in ballots right now, tonight, and send them back immediately and follow up to make sure they’re received. And then make sure our friends and families do the same.
For Thursday’s virtual couch party, the organization hopes to reach an additional 300,000 eligible voters with the help of special guests. To join the When All Women Vote #CouchParty, RSVP today at whenweallvote.org and use the livestream link to join on Thursday at 5pm ET.