Georgia Democrats are using the police shooting of Michael Brown to help turn out the vote.
Fliers from state Democrats obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reference Brown’s death and feature a picture of two young African-American girls holding signs that read “Don’t shoot.”
Brown, who was black, was shot by Darren Wilson, a white Ferguson, Mo. police officer on Aug. 9. One flier states that though Ferguson is a majority black town, its city council and police force are mostly white.
The only remedy to overturn that structure — and by implication, the police shootings that follow from it — is to vote early, according to the fliers.
“The choices may not always be perfect, but the cost of inaction is simply too great,” the mailer reads.
“If we want a better, safer future for our children, it’s up to us to vote for change.”
Another flier shows a person sitting in the middle of a smoke-filled street holding their hands up. “Vote,” reads the literature, “It’s up to you to make change happen.”
Georgia Dems invoke Ferguson in attempt to drive voter turnout http://t.co/qdHlGbKBgD pic.twitter.com/s0LKUrO4kJ
— Wesley Lowery (@WesleyLowery) October 21, 2014
This is not the first campaign in which Brown’s death and race in general have been used.
Last week, a union-affiliated group in Florida started a campaign called “Vest or Vote.” The group, Dream Defenders, created an ad in which an African American mother straps a bullet-proof vest onto her son. The message being that if blacks do not vote they will need bullet-proof vests to protect themselves against police officers and “vigilantes.” (RELATED: Group Warns Blacks, If You Don’t Vote You’ll Need A Bullet-Proof Vest)
And on Monday, churchgoers in North Carolina reported finding fliers on their cars urging them to re-elect Democrat Kay Hagan. “Kay Hagan doesn’t win,” screamed the flier’s headline. “Obama’s Impeachment will begin,” read the rest of the flier which contained an image of a black man being lynched. (RELATED: Pro-Hagan Flier Uses Lynching Image)
Georgia’s U.S. Senate race between Democrat Michelle Nunn and Republican David Perdue is running neck and neck.