/Company that put wrong election date on Jackson billboards to make amends with additional GOTV ads

Company that put wrong election date on Jackson billboards to make amends with additional GOTV ads

On Oct. 18, six billboards were placed in Jackson that stated: “Vote Election Day November 16, 2019” However, in Mississippi, statewide elections are scheduled for Nov. 5. Vote.org is a California-based non-profit that paid for the billboards in Mississippi for the third consecutive statewide election cycle. Vote.org spokeswoman said that the billboards were printed by a vendor with dates intended for advertising in Louisiana. A runoff election is scheduled for Nov. 16. Six Jackson billboards were damaged by the error. They were taken down within 24 hours. Kamari Guthrie, Vote.org’s communications director, stated that Vote.org has the primary mission of providing voters in underserved areas with the resources and information they need to vote. “Vote.org has been present in Mississippi, Louisiana and other states for the past three years to provide voters with the information they require to access the polls.” Jackson residents raised concerns about the billboards’ location in predominantly African American neighborhoods. This led to speculations about possible nefarious motives given Mississippi’s history of suppressing black votes. Guthrie said that she was a woman of colour who had been part of the team dedicated to strengthening our democracy through voter registration. She added: “This is a matter which we take seriously and have sought to rectify with our vendors… It’s our mission to provide accurate and helpful information for voters to get out to vote. We are committed to continuing that work in Mississippi, and nationally.” AdQuick, a Los Angeles-based company that book billboard ads for clients, stated that it would purchase additional billboards that contained correct information on behalf Vote.org. William McCormick, AdQuick’s spokesperson, said that they identified the problem within 24 hours of the billboards going live. The units were then taken down within 24hrs. “In addition to rectifying the error, we are also investing additional billboards to Jackson (Mississippi), market to further amplify the Nov. 5 vote date in the area.” Editor’s note: An earlier version incorrectly stated that AdQuick is located in Ohio and has billboards. The company is located in Los Angeles, handles bookings and does not own billboards.