LGBTQIA+ community leaders will rally voters in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday before heading together to cast early ballots.<\/p>\n
The South Florida LGBTQIA+ \u201cSouls to the Polls\u201d event will begin at 9:45 a.m. Oct. 31 at 1033 NW Sixth St., followed by a 10:15 a.m. procession to the African American Research Library and Cultural Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is among the scheduled participants, according to an announcement from organizers.<\/p>\n The Ujima Men\u2019s Collective<\/a> Social Justice Initiative, supported by The Our Fund Foundation<\/a>, is organizing the event with the John Lewis Get Out and Vote Bus.<\/p>\n The gathering, organizers said, aims to bring Black LGBTQIA+ residents, faith leaders and allies to the polls during the final weekend of early voting before Tuesday\u2019s General Election.<\/p>\n Minister Ederick E. Johnson, Ujima\u2019s Program Coordinator and a former First Vice President of the NAACP Youth & College Division of Florida, is also listed among the participants at the rally, which will feature other clergy and community leaders from across the county.<\/p>\n Participants will then board a chartered bus to the library, at 2650 Sistrunk Blvd., to vote. Those who prefer to drive can join the procession in their own vehicles, organizers said.<\/p>\n Organizers are inviting \u201cBlack same-gender-loving men, transgender and gender-nonconforming siblings, lesbian sisters, queer youth, elders, people living with HIV, ballroom community, clergy, and all who love and support\u201d the community.<\/p>\n The bus initiative, established in honor of the late Democratic U.S. Rep. John Lewis,\u00a0encourages voting nationwide, particularly among Black and younger Americans.<\/p>\n It is led by Brenden Mitchell, a former President of the NAACP Youth & College Division of Florida, according to the announcement.<\/p>\n