DNC delegate Courtney Finklea-Green speaks on importance of voter engagement and turnout

By Ariyana Griffin 
AFRO Staff Writer 
agriffin@afro.com

With just days left before Election Day on Nov. 5, Democratic campaigner Courtney Finklea-Green is speaking out on the crucial role of voter engagement and ways to increase voter turnout.

Finklea-Green is the president of the South County Democratic Club, co-founder of the Prince George’s County chapter of “Maryland Women for Biden,” and a Democratic National Committee (DNC) delegate for Congressional District 5. The Prince George’s resident has also dedicated her time to canvassing and rallying for Maryland Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks. She also serves as the lead director for Maryland Women for Harris Walz. 

Finklea-Green’s dedication to uplifting and supporting the Democratic Party is especially critical this election season. 

“I ran for election to become a DNC delegate, and we were the ones who got to vote for Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for president,” said Finklea-Green. “I want people to understand how important it is that Maryland voted for Kamala Harris and how every DNC delegate who went to Chicago voted for her.

“We’ve come back home to work with the Maryland Democratic Party to energize and galvanize the public to ensure that Kamala Harris is our next president,” she said. 

Pew Research Center released a study in January 2024 titled “Key facts about Black eligible voters in 2024” stating, “the number of Black eligible voters in the United States is projected to reach 34.4 million in November 2024 after several years of modest growth. Black eligible voters stand out for turnout rates that are higher than among Latino and Asian eligible voters.”

The study also found that “Black voters could play an important role in determining the outcome of key 2024 elections, including for U.S. president.”

Finklea-Green shared that her work and efforts extend past Maryland. 

“We’re doing a lot of efforts in swing states like Pennsylvania to make sure that that becomes Democratic, and we get the electoral votes needed,” she told the AFRO. 

AFRO:  Why do you think it’s important for people to get out and use their voice to vote?

FINKLEA-GREEN: People don’t understand that their votes matter. I always tell people that your vote is your currency. When you have money, it equals a certain value. Well, your vote is currency because it has the power. 

It has value to make or break all the wonderful things in our country. When you get out there and vote, you’re exercising that right to vote that our ancestors fought for – so we can have a say in democracy. We can have a say in all the things that our families, our communities, the state and our country need. 

Voting is imperative because you want to make sure the right leadership is in place so they can do things for the people, by the people.

AFRO: What do you say to people who feel their vote doesn’t matter? 

FINKLEA-GREEN: When we have elections, change depends upon one percent, two percent,  or three percent. Those little tiny percentages matter. Every vote counts because you can win or lose an election by a few hundred points. 

If everyone understands that their vote is their currency, their vote matters and their vote has value – it can change things for the better. If you don’t vote, you’re not going to make changes for the better.

Whatever good things we have currently, we won’t keep them because you didn’t vote. So, if you want to have all the freedoms, necessities, programming and the protections that you want for yourself, your family, community and your state in this country, it is imperative that you vote. 

Again, your vote matters. 

AFRO: Voting for the president of our country is important, but local elections are also imperative. How can we also help people understand and be motivated for local elections?

FINKLEA-GREEN: Voters can learn more by staying engaged in their state’s Democratic party. 

For instance, we have the Maryland Democratic Party that works with all the counties in our state. And from that, you have central committees that are basically the ground troops for the Democratic Party. Then you have central committees who are with the Democratic clubs. Stay plugged into what your state party is doing.

And when it comes to it at your state and local level, you want to learn about who’s running for school board. 

The school board is very important because it’s educating tomorrow’s adults and tomorrow’s future. People need to stay abreast of what’s going on in their own county or at least their own city, and they should make sure that they’re there for those meetings about schools, their county, and their city and understand what’s happening around them from the micro to the macro level. 

AFRO: How can people help engage in increasing voter turnout?

FINKLEA-GREEN: Word-of-mouth alone, talking to your neighbors, talking to your family, talking to people at churches. Getting the word out and letting them know how important it is to vote – how important this election is and educating them on what’s going around them politically. It takes a village. 

Simply speaking to people within their own village is enough magnified by one person, five people, ten people, 100 people and so on. That will help increase the message just talking to your neighbors, friends and families. 

AFRO: What work have you and your organizations done to help increase voter turnout?

FINKLEA-GREEN: We have attended different community events and festivals and have voter registration. And that’s very important – I have to meet people where they are, whether it is inside a festival, at a community center, outside of a supermarket, or at a church.

Voter registration is imperative because a lot of people don’t know how to sign up to vote. 

Some people don’t believe they can vote anymore for whatever may have happened in their personal lives. Engaging your community by doing voter registration drives at local events is something you would definitely want to do to increase voter turnout. speak at homeowner association meetings, fraternity and sorority events, church events and other community events. Get the word out: ‘We have an election coming up,’ or ‘You can sign up to vote here.’”

That’s what my democratic club has done, as well as working with Maryland Women for Harris Walz – getting out there and engaging the community. 

AFRO: How can someone get more involved?

FINKLEA-GREEN: They can go to our website, for the South County Democratic Club which I’m president of in Prince George’s County: www.southcountydemsclub.com. 

To join Maryland Women for Harris Walz, go to Facebook and look up Maryland Women for Harris Waltz. There is the Linktree with all the wonderful things we do in the community. Our organization has over 6,000 women. 

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