Portsmouth NAACP

10/25/2026

Portsmouth, we told you to take that rage to the polls. Now let's make sure nobody gets left at home.

Check in today. Text your mama. Call your cousin. Ask your coworker at lunch and your neighbor on the porch.

Have you voted yet?
Do you know where you're voting?
Do you need a ride?

Somebody you love fully plans to vote and still hasn't made it. Shifts run long, cars break down, life gets in the way. Don't assume. Ask.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. Need a ride, or know someone who does? Contact the Portsmouth Branch NAACP at [phone or email].

10/23/2026

What's on Your Ballot, Portsmouth? Here's the Plain-English Version.

When you vote on November 3, you'll see four questions at the bottom of your ballot. The first three change the Virginia Constitution, so they'll last well beyond this election. The fourth is just for Portsmouth.

Question 1: Reproductive Freedom. Puts the right to make your own decisions about pregnancy, birth control, abortion, miscarriage care and fertility treatment into the state constitution. Doctors, nurses and patients couldn't be punished for those decisions. The state could still restrict abortion in the third trimester, except when the patient's health is at risk or the pregnancy can't survive.

Question 2: Marriage Equality. Removes the same-s*x marriage ban that's still written in our constitution. It says two adults can marry regardless of s*x, gender or race, and that every legal marriage gets treated the same.

Question 3: Voting Rights. Makes voting a fundamental right in Virginia. Right now, people with felony convictions have to ask the governor to get their rights back. Under this change, you'd lose the right to vote only while incarcerated, and it would come back automatically the day you're released.

Portsmouth Question: School Sales Tax. Lets the city add up to 1% to our sales tax, on top of the 6% we already pay. That money could only go toward building or renovating Portsmouth schools, and the tax would end no later than June 30, 2046.

On each question, YES approves the change and NO keeps things as they are.

Early voting runs through Saturday, October 31. Look up your sample ballot at elections.virginia.gov.

Portsmouth Branch NAACP

10/22/2026

Portsmouth, let’s talk about these early voting numbers

Here's where we stood as of October 15:

📍 Virginia Beach: 29,203
📍 Chesapeake: 12,897
📍 Norfolk: 10,502
📍 Newport News: 7,867
📍 Hampton: 6,070
📍 Suffolk: 5,403
📍 Portsmouth: 4,611

Yes, Virginia Beach is a much bigger city. I know that. But we're sitting at the bottom of this list, and I don't believe that's who we are.

Here's the good news. Early voting is open across Virginia this Saturday, October 24. If you've been saying you can't get away from work during the week, Saturday takes care of that.

We talk all year about our schools, our neighborhoods, public safety, housing people can actually afford, and healthcare. Somebody makes the decisions on every one of those. Voting is how we get a say in who.

So here's my challenge. Share this post with five people. Call your family. Text your friends. Check on your neighbors. If someone doesn't know where to vote, help them look it up.

➡️ Saturday, October 24: Early voting
➡️ Saturday, October 31: Last day to vote early
➡️ Tuesday, November 3: Election Day

Hours and locations vary, so check with your local registrar before you head out Saturday. Official info: https://www.elections.virginia.gov/

Portsmouth, let's move up that list.

The Department of Elections envisions an electoral process that is trustworthy and accountable at all levels and engages Virginia’s diverse citizenry in the most fundamental right - the right to vote.

10/19/2026

We can't afford to sit this one out.

Our schools are on the ballot. So are our healthcare, housing people can actually afford, good jobs, and the civil rights our parents and grandparents fought for. The people we elect on November 3 will make decisions we'll be living with for years, and so will our children.

Your vote is your voice. Use it.

The Portsmouth Branch NAACP is asking every eligible voter in our city to get informed, make a plan, and show up.

📅 DATES TO KNOW

✅ Friday, October 23: Last day to register to vote and last day to request a mail-in absentee ballot (by 5 PM).
✅ Saturday, October 31: Last day to vote early in person.
✅ Tuesday, November 3: ELECTION DAY. Polls are open 6 AM to 7 PM. If you're in line by 7, STAY IN LINE. They have to let you vote.

Already voted? Good. Now go get somebody else.

Call your mama. Text your cousins. Knock on your neighbor's door. If someone's confused about where to go or what to bring, help them find the right answer.

SHARE THIS POST with at least FIVE people today. Let's make sure every household in Portsmouth knows when, where, and how to vote.

📍 NEED HELP?

Portsmouth General Registrar: 757-393-8644
Virginia Department of Elections: 800-552-9745
Election Protection Hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683). Call or text if you run into intimidation, registration problems, accessibility barriers, or anything else that gets in the way of your vote.

Check your registration and find your polling place at vote.elections.virginia.gov

Our community. Our voice. Our vote.

Portsmouth Branch NAACP

10/13/2026

Your voice is needed! Be a part of the conversation. Two information sessions scheduled..

10/11/2026

Portsmouth Branch NAACP, we need YOU!!! (Yes, YOU)

Our 2026 branch election is Saturday, Nov. 21, and we're looking for members ready to lead: President, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Vice President, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, and Executive Committee Members at Large.

Your gifts, talents and professional know-how are what make this branch strong. We have too much to lose to stay on the sidelines.

Submit your name by Monday, Oct. 12 at 5:00 PM to [email protected]. Candidates must be members in good standing since April 1, 2026.

If not now, then when? For such a time as this.

09/26/2026

NOT VOTING HAS CONSEQUENCES. LOOK AROUND.

We're seven months into a war with Iran that working families never asked for, and we're paying for it every time we fill up. Gas is averaging $4.48 a gallon nationally, the highest it's ever been for this time of year. Diesel hit a record too, and that cost rides along with everything trucked to our grocery stores.

Our farmers are hurting. Tariffs cost Virginia soybean growers their biggest buyer, and fertilizer costs jumped about 40% this year. Right down the road in Pungo, farmers are skipping crops because they can't turn a profit.

And now this. On Friday, the White House canceled $810 million in funding Congress already approved, and a lot of it was meant for Black and brown communities:

📌 $10 million in Minority Business Development Agency grants that help minority entrepreneurs get capital and contracts.

📌 $56 million in housing counseling that helps families buy first homes and avoid foreclosure.

📌 $5 million from the HHS Office of Minority Health, which works on the health gaps that hit our families hardest.

📌 The Justice Department's Community Relations Service, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to calm racial tensions in communities like ours.

📌 Programs serving immigrants, refugees, and migrant students. They're our neighbors too.

Congress approved that money with votes from both parties. The Government Accountability Office says the White House doesn't have the authority to cancel it this way.

None of this happened by accident. Every one of these decisions was made by someone who got elected, or by someone appointed by a person who got elected. When we sit out an election, somebody else decides for us.

Midterm Election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Check your registration at vote.virginia.gov
📞 Call Senator Mark Warner, Senator Tim Kaine, and Rep. Bobby Scott at (202) 224-3121 and ask what they're doing to restore this funding.

Share this. Tag someone who needs a reminder or a ride to the polls.

Portsmouth Branch NAACP

09/08/2026

PORTSMOUTH! SEE YOU TOMORROW- YOUR VOICE MATTERS!!!!!!!

Election Day will come, but an informed vote starts before you get to the ballot box.

Join us for the Portsmouth City Council & School Board Candidate Forum and hear directly from the people asking to represent our city, our families, and our schools.

📅 Wednesday, September 9, 2026
⏰ 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM | Doors open at 5:30 PM
📍 Arabia Temple No. 12
731 Queen Street, Portsmouth, VA 23704

We’ll discuss issues that affect Portsmouth every day, including public safety, education and student success, economic development, affordable housing, workforce development, youth and family support, transparency, and accountability.

Come hear the candidates. Come ask questions. Come prepared to make an informed choice.

Your community. Your voice. Your vote.

Please share this post and invite a Portsmouth neighbor, friend, family member, or young voter to attend.

09/08/2026

PORTSMOUTH, THIS WEDNESDAY YOUR VOICE MATTERS!!!!!

Election Day will come, but an informed vote starts before you get to the ballot box.

Join us for the Portsmouth City Council & School Board Candidate Forum and hear directly from the people asking to represent our city, our families, and our schools.

📅 Wednesday, September 9, 2026
⏰ 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM | Doors open at 5:30 PM
📍 Arabia Temple No. 12
731 Queen Street, Portsmouth, VA 23704

We’ll discuss issues that affect Portsmouth every day, including public safety, education and student success, economic development, affordable housing, workforce development, youth and family support, transparency, and accountability.

Come hear the candidates. Come ask questions. Come prepared to make an informed choice.

Your community. Your voice. Your vote.

Please share this post and invite a Portsmouth neighbor, friend, family member, or young voter to attend.

09/01/2026

📰 NAACP NATIONAL NEWS YOU CAN USE

Voting rights remain at the center of the conversation, and staying informed is part of staying engaged.

Ahead of the August 28, 2026 March on Washington: Defend the Vote, Dominik Whitehead, NAACP Chief of Field, Membership Growth and Unit Sustainability, joined Scripps News to discuss the importance of protecting voting rights and making sure communities across the country remain informed, engaged, and involved.

Take a few minutes to watch the conversation, then SHARE it with your family, friends, and community.

▶️ WATCH: https://youtu.be/XBa1i44BVA0

Our voice matters. Our participation matters. Our vote matters.

Stay informed. Stay engaged. Stay ready.

Ahead of the August 28, 2026 March On Washington: Defend the Vote, ...