Former President Barack Obama is making sure Democrats make plans to vote this election season with a new get-out-the-vote digital advertisement.
The ad is part of the continued push to engage young voters before Election Day. Early voting is already taking place in 48 states (in-person and mail-in ballots) and Obama wants you to know “It’s going to be close.”
“The 2020 election isn’t a few weeks away; it’s
already here. Millions of Americans are already voting; make sure you stand up and join them,” Obama says in the ad. “It’s going to be close. It could come down to a handful of voters just like you. So I’m asking you to bring this thing home. Leave no doubt. Vote early.”Democrats, terrified about a potential Trump second term, are harnessing the influence of Obama to animate voters who may have skipped the 2016 election or who might be planning to skip the 2020 election.
“There will always be reasons to think your vote doesn’t matter—that’s not new,” Obama says. “What is new is a growing movement for justice, equality, and progress on so many issues. This really is a tipping point, and that momentum only continues if we win this election.”
The advertisement is part of a seven-figure campaign that will hit 11 states: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Obama has put himself back into the spotlight to rally voters to vote for former Vice President Joe Biden. Earlier this week Obama appeared in a DNC video encouraging voters to learn about how to cast a ballot with state-specific tutorials for 24 states amid a national pandemic.
According to ABC News, more than 15 million Americans have already voted, smashing previous records three weeks out from Election Day. According to the U.S. Elections Project, the total so far is nearly five times the roughly 3.2 million who voted at a similar point four years ago.
The former president is also expected to campaign for Biden in the coming days, an aide to the former president told ABC News.