Emerge USA’s efforts are part of a larger wave of Muslim American activism this election cycle. A coalition of groups has pushed to register one million new Muslim voters, spearheaded by the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO). This summer during Ramadan, when mosque attendance tends to be highest, volunteers around the country handed out flyers and staffed voter registration tables outside Islamic centers. This fall, activists have continued holding voter education workshops, phone banks, and candidate forums, and USCMO created a National Muslim Voter Registration Day to coincide with Eid Al-Adha, one of Islam’s holiest festivals.
“This appears to be the most important election for the American Muslim community,” said Robert McCaw, the director of government affairs at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which is a USCMO member organization. “Never before have we been so front and center when it comes to political rhetoric—especially against the community.” He said voter registration has become “one of our community’s highest priorities.” As of June, CAIR estimated there were 824,000 likely registered Muslim voters, up 300,000 since the last presidential election.
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