At the 1995 Source Awards, André 3000 from the hip-hop duo OutKast famously responded, “The South got something to say,” when the New York audience jeered their win for Best New Artist. That defiant line has been echoed throughout the South in recent months as southern content creators and activists work to fire up voters. The focus is generally on federal elections, policies, and sound bites, but Y’all Vote is working to shift the focus.
Y’all Vote is the brainchild of Amanda Nelson, Anna Ruderman, and Kate Barr. It was created less than two hours after the U.S. Supreme Court made Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act nearly impossible to enforce in April 2026. The case is now simply known as “The Callais Decision,” and it kicked off a firestorm across the South. Y’all Vote is helping to lead the charge by organizing southern content creators.
Regular voters doing more
What sets them apart from others is their organizing efforts around state and local elections. Their bottom-up approach comes from their own personal experiences.
Barr tells Upworthy via email, “I ran for NC State Senate in 2024 in a heavily gerrymandered district with the explicit campaign goal of making as much noise about our unfair maps as I could (the campaign was called Kate Barr Can’t Win). I was one of those people who didn’t know a thing about my state reps, couldn’t even name one, for most of my life. And I was politically engaged! Running for state leg gave me a crash course on how little we understand about state legislatures and what they do…and how important they are.”
Ruderman explains, “In 2020, my mom worked hard to canvass for Ricky Hurtado, who flipped his district by just under 500 votes. He was amazing and then was drawn out of his district through gerrymandering. I also attended an event for state legislative candidates in the summer of 2024 and was inspired by Woodson Bradley’s story. I worked hard to tell everyone I could about her, and she won her election by just 209 votes. I felt like I could truly make a difference in these elections—friends who knew about top-of-the-ticket races just didn’t know about those down-ballot.”
Close to home
For full transparency, I joined Y’all Vote within hours of its launch because the mission was simple–educate southerners about the importance of local and state elections. There’s no rule about what you have to post or how you need to post it. The overall concern is fully focused on making sure people are getting the message in simple language from people who live in their communities.
When asked about the most effective method for people on the go who aren’t politically savvy, Ruderman says, “People don’t realize how much their vote does count—and sometimes giving examples of how just a few votes can change an election is empowering to people. I also think connecting politics to people’s lives can help, as well as exposing corruption that should anger all of us (the same judges who allow Duke Energy to raise their bills have shares in Duke Energy and receive money from them).”
Barr adds, “If your commute is too long, you probably care about road quality and property taxes. Voting maps matter for those. If your drinking water smells weird, or your teachers’ salaries are too low, or you have coal ash buried in your backyard…all of that is about needing leaders who serve people instead of political party leaders. The ultimate check on power should be the threat of losing your job because voters vote you out. In gerrymandered districts, the threat to a politician’s job is angering their party…not being held accountable by voters.”
Community members coming together
The group of content creators is made up of people from all across the South, from Virginia down to Florida and Texas. They amplify candidates running for state offices, whether it be an appeals court judge or a state senator. Highlighting their campaigns leads to money being donated to their campaigns, so their message can reach more people in their district.
Some of the more labor-intensive work revolves around voter education. Y’all Vote does more than make sure people know candidates’ names. They’re also researching bills being introduced, laws being passed, and community actions. After gathering that information, they break it down in layman’s terms before sharing it on social media in fun, engaging ways.
When asked why some people may be unaware of the direct impact of local politics, Ruderman tells Upworthy, “I think people are exhausted, and it’s hard to pay attention to different things—it’s harder to find sources for more local news, and national news often dominates the conversation.”
Barr goes further by sharing the purposeful complexity of politics. She explains, “This stuff is complicated! And they do that on purpose. The more confusing something is, the less likely people are to pay close attention. All of our leaders benefit from our government systems being complex because people tune out. And people are busy, stressed, and trying to get through the day.”
While it may seem like the people in Washington make all the big decisions, the co-founders of Y’all Vote want Southern voters to reconsider. According to Barr, your money goes furthest when investing in down-ballot candidates. She explains that turning out for candidates at the bottom of the ballot means more votes for candidates at the top of the ballot. Ruderman points out that down-ballot candidates are easier to reach out to and connect with.
Your voice can make a difference
The same goes for elected officials. It’s much easier to get in contact with state and local representatives than federal ones. Your voice carries more weight in local spaces because the elected officials are aware of the slim margin they need to win. It would also stand to reason that many of them are not used to being inundated with calls from constituents like their federal counterparts. A sudden influx of calls and emails just might be enough to make them reconsider supporting an unpopular policy.
Y’all Vote is educating voters while simultaneously reminding them that their voices have power. Especially at the local and state levels. The group is progressive, but their message is for everyone: Your voice matters, and everyone deserves to know how politics impact their daily lives. Ruderman reminds Upworthy, “As Justice Earls says, ‘the further down your ballot, the closer to your front door.’”
The group has already raised over $100,000 for Southern candidates and works with over 500 content creators. Content creators interested in joining Y’all Vote can sign up on their website.
