WASHINGTON – In anticipation of its mid-term campaign message, former President Barack Obama on Friday issued a speech warning of the consequences of voters' apathy.

"As a fellow citizen, not as a former president, I am here to convey a simple message that you must vote because our democracy depends on it," he said.

Obama said it's not an exaggeration to say that the mid-term elections are the most important in his lifetime.

"A quick look at the latest news should tell you that this moment is really different, that the stakes are really higher, that the consequences of our presence on the sidelines are more serious," he said. -he declares.

Obama addresses an audience of about 1,100 students, faculty members and community members, in front of a packed house of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Following his remarks, Obama will receive the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government at a ceremony to be held at the University President's Residence on campus.

The speech comes before his first events of the mid-term campaign, starting Saturday, on the political battlefield of Orange County, California, where he will meet for several candidates in the Democratic House.

"The Democrats need all hands on the bridge to take back the House, and we could not be more honored to have the inspiring voice and unifying message of President Barack Obama in the field, with his first stop in California South, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement.

Congressman Republican National Committee chairman Steve Stivers said Friday that Obama's campaign events would help Republicans.

"For three cycles, President Obama has made Republicans like no one, and I'm happy if he wants to do it again," he said at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast in Washington.

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Obama will travel to Cleveland on Sept. 13 to campaign for Ohio governor candidate Richard Cordray. He will also be campaigning this month in Illinois and Pennsylvania, and will be leading a fundraiser for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee in New York.

Last month, Obama issued a first set of warnings (81 candidates) and there will be a second round of endorsements and additional campaign activities, according to his services.

Katie Hill, director of communications for Obama, said Obama hoped to use his position across the country to help elect Democrats at the polls.

Obama's reappearance comes as both parties prepare for an election in November largely considered a referendum on President Donald Trump. The result will decide congressional control and three dozen governor contests.

Analysts say Obama's post-Democrat presidency will help African-American, Latino and youth voters in suburban neighborhoods and cities. They also stated that he was better placed than anyone in the party to raise huge sums of money for the campaign.

Obama left his position with a 57% approval rate and, like most presidents, his position has only improved since he left the office. West wing. More than six out of ten respondents in a Gallup poll released in February said they approve of how Obama handled the job.

Former first lady Michelle Obama, co-chair of the band When We All Vote, also involves. She urges Americans to participate in a week of action, from September 22 to 29, to register people.

"My father has learned that voting is a sacred responsibility, which no one among us can take for granted," she tweeted last month. "And #WhenWeAllVote, we can make our voices heard."

Contributor: John Fritze

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