Muslim voter turnout increased in 2020 election cycle: report

A new report from Emgage, a Muslim American civic group, found that nearly 1.1 million Muslim voters cast ballots in the 2020 election. 

The analysis found that 71% of registered Muslim voters in the United States turned up at the polls last cycle, a 2 percentage point increase compared to 2016 numbers, and 4 percentage points above the 2020 nationwide turnout. 

The report also indicates that the number of Muslims who voted in 2020 was enough to make a difference in key swing states. In Georgia, a hotly contested state, which Joe Biden won by about 12,000 votes, over 61,000 Muslim voters turned out to the polls. In Pennsylvania, which went Biden by a margin of 81,000 votes, about 125,000 Muslim voters participated in the election.

The Emgage political action committee — which calls itself the largest Muslim American PAC in the country — endorsed Biden in the last general election. The PAC had earlier endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders, when the Vermont independent was running for president in the Democrat primary.

The group has touted its significant 2020 outreach effort, which included more than 1.8 million calls, 3.6 million text messages and a large mailer and door-knocking campaign. Voter registration drives also occurred at mosques, and the group participated in get-out-the-vote rallies. 

The group told Politico it is now in the middle of launching its "Million Muslim Votes 2.0" project to turn out Muslims for the upcoming midterm election.

Though the group previously operated its voter engagement operation through its nonpartisan 501(c)(3), that will no longer be the case this time around. The group plans to canvass and endorse candidates during primaries and the general election.