Selena Gomez and Stacey Abrams Are Teaming Up on the Coolest Get-Out-the-Vote Campaign

Selena Gomez and Stacey Abrams. Name a more iconic duo—I’ll wait. (But not that long, though, because democracy is actually at stake.)

Gomez is a pop princess, a movie producer, and a makeup mogul—the select former child actor who has continued to work since her spot on Barney & Friends.

Abrams is a former Georgia state representative, onetime gubernatorial candidate, and a major activist who also happens to write award-winning romance novels.

Now the two have teamed up on a collaboration that Glamour is unveiling here: In a new campaign called Civics for the Culture, Gomez is joining Abrams’s anti-voter-suppression group, Fair Fight Action, to mobilize young people of color to vote in November's election. She’s the first of a group of celebrities and influencers who will make videos as part of the campaign, telling people of color between the ages of 18 and 35 that, no matter how much the powers that be work to keep them from voting, their vote is significant and powerful.

“Ahead of the most important election of our lifetimes, it is critical that we do everything we can to educate and mobilize young people, particularly young people of color, a key voting bloc with the power to sway elections,” Gomez tells Glamour. “The ability to change the future of this nation lies in our hands.”

In the Fair Fight Action campaign video, dropping on October 7, Gomez speaks directly to the camera from what looks like a dressing room, calmly acknowledging that voting isn’t a cure-all for the country’s problems. Rather, she explains, “voting breaks cycles, whether it’s oppression, suppression, or silencing.” She walks voters through the steps: Make sure you’re registered and make a plan to vote, either early or on Election Day, either by mail (make sure it’s postmarked ahead of time!) or in person.

“Despite intentional misinformation about voting coming from bad actors at every level of government, Fair Fight Action is committed to meeting voters where they are and providing them with the information they need to safely and securely cast their ballots,” Abrams tells Glamour, praising Gomez and other celebrities who will be involved in the ongoing video rollouts for “lending their voices to uplift messages that will help young people recognize that voting is their power.”

Tons of people, famous and not famous, post the requisite “Vote!” ’gram in the lead-up to a presidential election. But for Gomez to do this—to join a high-profile Black woman Democrat to target and appeal to young voters of color—goes well past a photo op. She could have just posted a selfie with an attractive red, white, and blue color scheme, and that might have satisfied the masses. But Gomez wanted to make a more direct appeal. 

She isn't new to this work—she's participated in get-out-the-vote efforts since the 2008 election, when 11-year-olds stood for hours in malls across the country to see the then teenage Gomez talk about the value of voting. And Abrams is decades into her service for this country. “We should be on edge, but not to the point of paralysis,” she told Glamour earlier this summer, about fighting for just outcomes in the 2020 election. “We need to harness extraordinary energy. If we do, we will win.”

“Our vote is our power, and we must wield it wisely to ensure a better future for the next generation,” Abrams says now. So go wield your power: Get registered, grab your girls, head to the polls in November, and maybe look into getting the outstanding light blue crewneck sweater Gomez is wearing in the video. (I know that's my voting plan.) 

Our future is in our hands, and we have to take action. So as Gomez sings, “When you’re ready”—we hope you’re ready—“come and get it.” (Your right to vote, that is.)

Jenny Singer is a staff writer for Glamour. You can follow her on Twitter.