Order Issued by Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners YBLOC, Founded by Dallasite Abdul Dosunmu, Helped Coordinate the Litigation

(Black PR Wire) Who: Young Black Lawyers’ Organizing Coalition

What: 

Order Issued by Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners Requires the Counting of all absentee ballots in Arkansas.

Background:

An order has been issued by the Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners that says the counting of absentee ballots must continue until counting is complete. Prior to the order, Arkansas’s arbitrary counting deadline placed thousands of absentee ballots at risk of not being counted.  The litigation that secured the new order was coordinated in part by the  Young Black Lawyers’ Organizing Coalition (YBLOC), headed by Dallasite Abdul Dosunmu.

“Prompted by the legal action we coordinated to protect every ballot cast in this election, the new order from the Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners provides reassurance to thousands of absentee voters in Arkansas that all absentee ballots will be counted,” said Abdul Dosunmu, founder of the Young Black Lawyers' Organizing Coalition. "COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted Black communities and, in response, many Black Arkansas voters are proactively protecting themselves and their loved ones by voting absentee for the first time in their lives. We must ensure that every absentee ballot is counted.”

Media Availability:

Mr. Abdul Dosunmu, founder of YBLOC, is available for media interviews on the following topics:

• Litigation surrounding voter suppression and intimidation
• The distribution of 180,000 pieces of personal protection equipment (PPE) to voters in Texas and South Carolina ahead of Election Day
• Black voters and the threat of COVID-19
• Election protection support, and local advocacy
• #Black Ballots, Black Futures campaign

Story Angles for News Packages and Feature Stories

• YBLOC is led by a recent graduate of NYU School of Law
• YBLOC is an example of how young people are participating in the democratic process
• Voter suppression is more rampant than people really know, and it is un-American and anti-democratic

About Young Black Lawyers’ Organizing Coalition

Young Black Lawyers’ Organizing Coalition (YBLOC) is the only network of young Black lawyers and law students mobilizing to protect and empower Black voters across the country through community-centered voter education, litigation, and election protection support, and local advocacy. Through the Black Ballots, Black Futures campaign, YBLOC is activating 1,000 young Black lawyers and law students to protect and empower 500,000 Black voters in seven target states: Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, and Arkansas.

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