[Gallery] Kerry Washington & Nnamdi Asomugha Energize Voters in Durham

Kerry Washington (Photo: Malcomb Beamon)

Durham, NC – On Saturday, Actress Kerry Washington and Nnamdi Asomugha traveled to Durham to rally people to the polls after a historic week of early voting — joining a mobilization rally, sitting down with North Carolinians for a ‘Sister Circle meets Shop Talk Discussion,’ and surprising voters at an early vote site. Washington spoke about the power that every voter has in North Carolina and the importance of showing up to the polls in the next 16 days. (Gallery below)

The visit came two days after Kamala Harris virtually visited North Carolina, and just before visits from Joe Biden to Durham on Sunday and Doug Emhoff to Wilmington and Greenville on Oct. 20.

**(l-r) Washington, Durham City Councilman Mark-Anthony Middleton, and Asomugha (Photo: Malcomb Beamon)**

Washington and Asomugha participated in a Get Out The Early Vote Rally in Hillside Park to engage voters and encourage them to vote early. The program featured First Vice-Chair of the Durham County Democratic Party Ebony West and Durham City Councilman for Ward 2 and senior pastor of the Abundant Hope Christian Church Mark-Anthony Middleton.

At the Lit Drop Kickoff, Washington and Asomugha met with volunteers at Suite Four in downtown Durham to provide encouraging words and discuss the importance of voting early as they prepare to do lit drops. Lit drops are organizing/canvassing activities where volunteers pick up campaign materials to distribute in their area. This was Biden for President North Carolina’s first.

Political commentator Bakari Sellers, candidate for Commissioner of Labor Jessica Holmes, candidate for Lt. Governor Yvonne Holley, State Senator Natalie Murdock, Durham County Democratic Party Chair David Dixon, and local restaurant owners Zweli & Leonardo Williams joined Washington and Asomugha for Sister Circle & Shop Talk. The event was a conversation about the issues facing Black Americans and the Biden-Harris plan to advance racial equity. (Photos: Malcomb Beamon)

As of October 17, more than 1 million North Carolinians have cast their ballots. Democrats are outpacing Republicans in absentee ballot requests, and also hold a voter registration advantage. More than 1.3 million Democrats turned out to vote in the 2020 primary — surpassing 2016’s turnout by nearly 200,000. In-person early voting runs from October 15-31, and voters will have access to more early voting sites than ever before — with expanded hours in every single county. Voters in Durham County will have 1,038 more hours and 1 additional site to vote this year than in 2016. Each in-person early voting site will also offer same-day voter registration.