NJ NAACP President Talks ‘Souls to the Polls,’ Empowering Communities of Color to Vote

Trenton, N.J. — There is a buzz in the air in Trenton, New Jersey, as November 5 draws closer. Austin J. Edwards, who works with the nonprofit Salvation and Social Justice, has been working to boost civic engagement through “Souls to the Polls,” a nationwide initiative empowering African Americans to cast their ballots early.

“Souls to the Polls” came to New Jersey in 2021 when early voting was signed into law — decades after the Black Church-led civic movement emerged in Florida. Organizers have been working fervently to mobilize voters to the polls for early in-person voting, scheduled locally from October 26 to November 3. A coalition including over 200 churches and Black faith leaders in New Jersey is working to encourage and empower residents, particularly Black communities, to vote in the November 5 presidential election and state Senate race.

As senior policy counsel for Salvation and Social Justice, Edwards works with churches to promote “Souls to the Polls” and works alongside a coalition of organizations across the state to enhance voter turnout initiatives. In an October interview with Faithfully Magazine, Edwards, who also serves as president of the Trenton branch of the NAACP, expressed his excitement about fostering greater civic engagement in New Jersey.

In the following Q&A, Edwards discusses the “Souls to the Polls” movement and its impact in New Jersey. The transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Faithfully Magazine: What is “Souls to the Polls” and how are you involved in the movement?

Edwards: Souls to the Polls is about trying to increase voter turnout amongst underrepresented communities across New Jersey. For me, it’s a combination of effort between my job at Salvation and Social Justice, my church, Greater Mount Zion AME Church in Trenton, and my role as the president of the Trenton branch of the NAACP. We’re trying to combine as many community organizations, efforts, and resources.

We’re trying to emphasize during church services, the point of voting and why it’s important, especially for those in the African American and Latino community that we have here at Trenton, but also making sure that people have a good time to the point where they want to come back and make this a routine thing, because, in New Jersey, I swear, we have an election every six months.

One of the important things in Trenton is that we really do unify our efforts to make not just our “Soul to the Polls” effort successful, but anything we do to uplift the city and its people.

FM: Why is mobilizing voters, especially Black communities, important?

Edwards: I look at it from a historical perspective. America is always really trying to get to the words that are put on paper that all men and also women are created equal. I think overall, because there’s been such historical disenfranchisement right through the centuries, through generations and, unfortunately, still today, those with the ability to exercise the right to vote and make their voice heard should absolutely do so.

I look at all these elected leaders, both locally and all the way up to the presidency. I tell people in the community that these are your employees. You hired them to do a job, so go out there and let everyone know who should have these seats and what they should be doing. This is really step one of a lot of civic work that we ask the community to do, but we ask you, at a bare minimum, make sure that you show up for this. Show up to vote.

FM: What are some key issues that are mobilizing voters? Are voters excited about one particular candidate or another?

Edwards: All these organizations involved in voter mobilization are non-partisan organizations. We’re not endorsing any specific candidate. We talk about the policies that may affect us. Project 2025 is one that people are talking about. We try to educate people on how different policies will affect our communities.

This is also a huge election. Again, not endorsing anyone, but we have the opportunity, for example, to have the first Black female president, right? And, you know, especially in our community, that does engage a lot of people, gets them excited.

And we say to ourselves with all these policy areas [and] all these potential historical moments, if people are energized, you have to strike while the iron is hot again. We don’t tell anybody who to vote for, but we specifically try to get people out so they can exercise the right to vote in the future.

Here in Trenton, we have a few local races, as well, in 2026 so you get people in the habit of voting so they continue to show up.

FM: New Jersey is generally progressive in its policies, and ranks high for political participation. But are there any communities that historically haven’t been engaged civically?

Edwards: We’ve also made it a point to reach those who are formerly incarcerated. Our aim is to educate them that they have the ability to vote. Your voting rights are restored once you come back into society. It’s about making sure that people understand the value of their vote, why it matters, how it affects your daily life, and then just past that, making sure people stay engaged.

We also have a Latino community in Trenton that we are trying to engage.

In addition, we have a sizable Asian population, and immigrants that we are trying to educate. Even if they may not be able to vote, it’s about educating them about how they can be engaged in city activities like school boards or City Hall, so that they have their voices heard.

FM: Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Edwards: None of this, and I mean progress, is possible without you showing up on or before November 5. We can make our communities better. We can make our people better. We [can’t] make our lives better for ourselves, our children, and our families without your help. So I’m hoping that we can all get out to vote together and that we keep walking and marching, and keep getting souls to the polls well into the future.