The Story of Upstate Action Alliance
The Upstate Action Alliance is a non-partisan voter education, voter registration, and voter turnout organization. It has applied for 501©3 status, which is pending. And has filed nonprofit status with the state of South Carolina
Formed by Charles Mann and Maclyn Humphrey, the Upstate Action Alliance (UAA) will have three pillars:
Voter Awareness and Education
Voter Registration
Voter Turnout
An overall belief of the organization is that we have to increase our citizen’s interest in the electoral process. Having elections decided by a handful of votes cast cannot continue. As citizens participating in a representative democracy, votes matter. So, no matter who you vote for, you should exercise your right to vote. Voting matters! Voting is not a privilege; it is a right every citizen has under our constitution.
UAA believes that increasing awareness, registration and turnout can only come through building strong community organization coalitions. In doing so, the UAA has established a working relationship with the Black faith community, Community Neighborhood Associations, local voter groups, Racial Equity organizations and local NAACP chapter.
In addition to Charles Mann and Maclyn Humphrey, other Charter members included the following:
Sheila Snoddy ( Black Faith Community and Community Leader)
Jack Lawrence (Longtime political activist)
Summer Talbet (Community healthcare leader)
Harold Mitchell (Former state legislator and community activist)
James Talley (Former Spartanburg Mayor, Councilman, Educator, Judge)
Horace Littlejohn (Local Community Leader and Water Commissioner)
After working together on a local Spartanburg election in 2019, Mann and Humphrey were concerned about the lack of voter turnout in local elections. After looking at the voting data, it was clear that over the last several voting cycles, turnout in the county had been trending downward. This was particularly true in predominately non-white voting precincts. Holding to the belief that Elections Matter, Mann and Humphrey sought to create a non-partisan organization to turn around the downward trend and increase interest in elections.
