ABOVE: Former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris. Photo via Biden for President.
Equality Florida Action, Inc. endorsed Joe Biden for president of the United States Sept. 22, the organization’s first federal endorsement in its 23-year history.
As the state’s largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for LGBTQ Floridians, Equality Florida has previously focused on electing pro-equality candidates in municipal and statewide races. The endorsement was unanimously approved by its board of directors “in the face of the existential threat posed by the Trump administration and the potential for a Supreme Court nomination that endangers LGBTQ civil rights.”
“Our endorsement of a Biden-Harris ticket is a testament to the grave stakes of this election,” Executive Director Nadine Smith said in a statement. “The Trump-Pence Administration has been catastrophic for LGBTQ Americans, an onslaught of the brand of bigotry that Pence has become synonymous with.
“Giving them another four years in the Oval Office would put the most marginalized among us in danger and decimate the progress we’ve earned,” she continued. “The time is now to mobilize our community, turn out in record numbers and elect a president who will shepherd the fight for full equality instead of wage war on it. The time is now to elect Joe Biden and we are ready to deliver him a win in Florida.”
Equality Florida’s presidential endorsement follows the organization’s largest voter mobilization program to date. Launched in June, it targets 500,000 pro-equality voters at risk of not casting a ballot to contrast the Trump administration’s assault on LGBTQ equality with the Biden-Harris ticket’s commitment to expanding LGBTQ protections.
“In a state whose election outcomes live on a razor’s edge, LGBTQ voters in Florida and their allies will determine the results on election night – and the country’s course for generations to come,” Equality Florida shared.
“The choice could not be clearer or the election more consequential,” Smith added. “The country cannot withstand another four years of hate, bigotry and an assault on the rights of all Americans to live authentically without fear of violence. In November, pro-equality voters in Florida will chart the path forward from this nightmare.”
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Equality Florida’s announcement also coincides with its eighth day of action event. Volunteers will contact pro-equality voters to encourage them to sign up to receive a vote-by-mail ballot in two shifts on Sept. 22, from 1-3 p.m. and 3-5 p.m.
LGBTQ-focused organizations Come OUT St. Pete and Sarasota’s Project Pride will join them for the latter shift. Volunteers are still needed – register and find out more below:
Equality Florida supporters can also sign up to text or phone bank for Biden-Harris to encourage voters to cast their ballots on or before Nov. 3.
“Your volunteer hours could literally make the difference between hate or love in the White House AND the Supreme Court,” Equality Florida stresses. Read more and sign up here.
For more information about Biden’s pro-LGBTQ policies, visit JoeBiden.com/LGBTQ. You can also read his responses to Watermark’s primary candidate Q&A here.
