North Carolina Muslim groups push voter registration ahead of November election

At the Islamic Association of Raleigh’s mosque on Page Road in Durham, Nigel Edwards set up a table with voter registration information and a QR code directing people to election resources.

It was part of a push Friday by Muslim organizations across North Carolina to encourage members of their community to register and vote in the November election.

The response was mixed, said Edwards, president of the state’s Muslim American Public Affairs Council.

Some people were already registered. Others were not interested in voting. But Edwards said even registering one person who had never done so before would make the effort worthwhile.

“I had at least one brother who actually is going to register who’s never registered before,” Edwards said. “Even just one person is a success, in my opinion.”

Edwards said some people also did not know an election was coming.

“A lot of it is just simple awareness,” he said. 

National Muslim Voter Registration Day is a nonpartisan effort led by MPower Change. More than 80 Muslim organizations were participating in more than 15 states, including North Carolina, according to the organization. Events were planned in states including New York, New Jersey, Florida, Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

In North Carolina, about 12 to 15 locations were participating, said Sinthia Shabnam, who leads the group’s effort in the state.

Friday prayers are an important opportunity for organizers to reach older members of the community and others who may be less engaged in politics, Shabnam said. 

“It’s those aunties. It’s those uncles. It’s the elderly in the community. It’s the folks that don’t even know they could vote,” she said. “It’s actually the best time to reach that target audience.”

NC Board of Elections will no longer provide forms to voter registration drives

Abdul Allam, who attended Friday prayers at the Durham mosque, said voter registration efforts need to happen repeatedly to keep people engaged.

Some Muslims, he said, pay close attention to presidential elections but are less attentive to primaries and local elections.

“It has to be done multiple times, not once, because that keeps reminding people,” Allam said.

Allam said people also need help understanding how to register and participate.

“It’s not just voting for the president,” he said. “At every level it has an impact.”

The Charlotte Muslim Caucus also held registration and voter pledge events at about five locations in the Charlotte area. The group hoped to register about 50 people and get at least 500 people to pledge to vote, said Nasif Majeed, a co-founder of the caucus and the son of Charlotte state Rep. Nasif Majeed.