During JSU Voter Fair, Brandon Presley encourages Black MS residents to register to vote

Brandon Presley spoke at the Jackson State Voter Fair as a stop on his campaign trail and encouraged Black Mississippians to register to vote.

At 39%, Mississippi has the highest percentage of Black residents out of any other state in the U.S., but due to a long history of voter suppression, the number of registered Black voters fails to meet the same ratio, according to Democratic Gubernatorial Nominee Brandon Presley.

Presley’s comments came in Tuesday speech about the importance of Black voter registration in Mississippi at the Jackson State University Voter’s Fair.

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Students and community members gathered Tuesday afternoon in the Jackson State University Plaza for the Voter Fair to celebrate National Register to Vote Day.

With less than two months to go before the Nov. 7, 2023, Mississippi Governor election, Presley made stops on his campaign trail with remarks at Jackson State University after holding a press conference centered on Black voter registration in Greenville on Tuesday morning.

“My campaign has announced today that we’re making a historic investment in reaching and engaging with Black voters in Mississippi. More than any other gubernatorial campaign in the history of our state,” Presley said. “We’re going to make sure that we engage with voters who’ve been left out of the process and forgot about.”

Presley announced earlier Tuesday morning that his campaign has made a six-figure investment to air advertisements on radio stations with majority Black audiences.

Trenecea Atkins, Jackson State University sophomore and member of the NAACP, said that events like JSU’s Voter Fair are important to get people to understand the significance of voting.

“I’m here today to encourage people to vote,” Atkins said. “(I’m) letting them know how important it is to be active in society and to have a voice in what’s going on today.”

Kennadie Boykin, student president of JSU Votes and organizer of Tuesday’s event, said the event seeks to get all campus organizations to encourage student voting registration. A past volunteer of the Voter Fair, Boykin said the event helps students understand that their vote counts.

“It’s very important because we often complain about things, but nobody ever does anything to fix them,” she said. “And the only way you’re going to see a change is if you get out there and vote.”

After his remarks, Presley echoed Atkins and Boykin’s comments and emphasized the importance of voter registration, especially for Historically Black Colleges and Universities like Jackson State University.

“Particularly, it’s important for me to be here on the campus of Jackson State University, one of our HBCUs in Mississippi. I wanted to be here to encourage students to get to be a part of this campaign, part of this process,” Presley said.

As for his opponent, incumbent Gov. Tate Reeves’ absence at the event, Presley said he isn’t surprised given that Reeves has not agreed to appear at a debate yet.

Presley said he aims to use his campaign to create a “broad coalition across this state of both Black Mississippians and white Mississippians” and across party lines.

“We’re a state that’s almost 40% Black and to run for governor and ignore 40% of our population, not only is immoral in my standpoint,” Presley said, “but I think it puts us economically behind in Mississippi to think that somehow we’re going to succeed without the Black community succeeding.”