Democrats to boost early and absentee voting with ‘Majority Project’ initiative

Del. Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, called the effort, dubbed “The Majority Project,” an extension of the push for early and absentee voting that Democrats have done since first spearheading expanded voting access in 2020 and 2021.

“This is something that it’s natural to us as Democrats,” said Herring. “It’s something that we believe in, because we believe people should have access to the ballot.”

While the formal launch and name of the initiative was revealed this week, the Democratic caucuses say the work first rolled out this past May. The program builds on Democrats’ previous encouragement to vote early and they hope it will be key to keeping their majority in the Senate while attaining it in the House of Delegates.

Earlier in the year during a special election Aaron Rouse, a Democrat from Virginia Beach, had an edge in early and absentee voting — culminating in his victory for a state Senate seat over Republican Kevin Adams.

House Minority Leader Don Scott Jr., D-Portsmouth, said he thinks Republicans learned a lesson from that.

“They found that out in the special Senate race and that’s why they know they’re behind,” he said.

When Republicans launched Secure Your Vote Virginia, their early voting campaign, Youngkin said “we can’t go into Election Day down thousands of votes.”

Meanwhile, to ramp up the messaging for The Majority Project, about 100 people have been hired in districts around the state to help with door-knocking and phone calls.

While Scott didn’t disclose the exact price tag of the effort, he said it was close to seven figures.

“They have an unprecedented fundraiser on the other side, and he spent $20 million of his own money to become governor,” Scott said. “We know that they’re motivated to spend money and so we have to spend our money in a smart way.”

According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Youngkin did donate $20 million to his campaign. Meanwhile, his Spirit of Virginia political action committee has raised over $10 million since its launch in 2021 and can play a role in supporting GOP candidates. The PAC gathered $1 million in May from an out-of-state LLC and $1 million in April from Thomas Petterfy, who used to donate to presidential hopeful and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Youngkin’s campaigning last summer for GOP gubernatorial candidates in other states sparked speculation that he might be flirting with the idea of a presidential run in 2024 or onward. While his term doesn’t end until January 2026, analysts say he might need to carry his agenda further in Virginia before he could vie for the White House.

All 140 seats in Virginia’s General Assembly are up for election this year on new district maps — and a handful of them are competitive races where both parties see opportunity to flip a seat or bolster their power. During this year’s General Assembly session Democrats held a four-seat edge in the Senate while Republicans held a four-seat edge in the House of Delegates.

Youngkin, who has not ruled out a presidential run, first announced the Republican push for early voting on Fox News to its national audience.

Scott, the House Democratic leader, said: “We’ve been champions of early voting, of voting access, drop boxes… doing everything we can to make voting accessible. And Republicans have been doing everything in their power to roll it back.”

 In 2020 and 2021, when they held a majority in both chambers and held the governorship, Democrats passed measures to expand access to voting. Many Republican lawmakers have since introduced or supported bills to undo or walk back the measures.  Republicans who supported bills in this year’s session to eliminate absentee ballot drop boxes and to trim the length of early voting, have since expressed support of the GOP’s new early voting effort, Secure Your Vote Virginia.

“I’m glad that the Republicans finally are seeing the light that early voting is a good thing,” Herring said.

A key issue for Democrats this year is protecting access to abortion and their majority in the Senate has allowed them to halt GOP efforts to enact bans or restrictions on the procedure. Other proposals among Democratic candidates involve efforts to reduce gun violence, investments in education, and environmental protections.

Early voting begins in September. 

During the “election season” that spans between then and November’s Election Day, Scott said the passion for Democratic platforms will “be found out.”