CHICAGO — Women’s March Chicago (WMC) announced last month that its upcoming March to the Polls 10.13.18 will include new features designed to expand the reach and depth of its previous marches.
“The stakes are sky-high this November,” said WMC board president Jessica Scheller, during a press conference outside Grant Park, where the march/rally will occur on Saturday, October 13. “We need every single woman — from first time voters to great grandmothers — along with every single ally to take to the streets and converge on the polls. We have been practicing for months. Now it’s time to channel our outrage and energy and truly make our voices heard through our votes in greater numbers than ever before.”
Aware that new voters will greatly impact outcomes in the midterms, WMC will engage them through a new First Time Voter Experience (FTVE). Working with Chicago Votes (CV), a partner organization that specializes in youth outreach and mobilization, WMC and CV will host a special area designated for new voters, where they will mingle with elected officials, community leaders and others while enjoying VIP treatment. These young voters will also step off the march, leading thousands of marchers through the streets of downtown Chicago.
A Voter Village will run along Columbus Dr. and serve as a hub for activists. The village will feature festival-style booths hosted by an array of activists organizations, political candidates, and businesses including League of Women Voters of Illinois, Moms Demand Action, the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago and more.
Following the rally with entertainment and speakers — including civil rights activist Heather Booth —the event will encourage attendees from Cook County and the city of Chicago to literally march to the polls and utilize the early voting sites in downtown Chicago. The rally site, Voter Village and FTVE area all open at 9 a.m. with entrances along Columbus Drive at Congress Parkway and Balbo Drive. Persons with disabilities and families will enter at Monroe Street and Columbus. Rally and march start times and general and FTV programming will be announced as they are finalized.
Press release from Women’s March Chicago