To engage LGBTQ+ voters, Drag Out the Vote comes to Phoenix

The nonprofit voter-engagement party is one of seven happening across Maricopa County

In an effort to get more LGBTQ+ people and their allies voting early in the upcoming election, local drag queens bolstered by the support of the nonprofit Drag Out the Vote is gathering people at The Royale this Friday afternoon in Phoenix for a performance, a party, and a rush to the nearest voting location to submit their ballot. 

The event is one of seven more this month partially bankrolled by Party at the Polls, a voting project organized by the national nonpartisan group When We All Vote. Five of those events, including a music festival in West Phoenix and a professional Volleyball meet-up in Mesa, are happening this week. 

Drag Out the Vote’s event is particularly aimed to get more queer voters to submit their ballots early this year that could combat statewide LGBTQ+ scapegoating, which has been a centerpiece for many candidates this year.

LOOKOUT found that at least 58 candidates have been endorsed by anti-LGBTQ+ organizations or leaders from groups such as Moms For Liberty, or Turning Point USA, or running a campaign that used LGBTQ+ scapegoating. And this year’s voting laws have the ability to disenfranchise more than 9,000 eligible trans voters with current laws in place.