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With a pivotal election looming in a few short months, San Francisco’s African American-Jewish Unity Group is hosting a Zoom talk later this month on increasing voter turnout, and obstacles that continue to prevent some Americans from casting their ballot.

Co-sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council, San Francisco’s Or Shalom Jewish Community and Congregation Emanu-El, the virtual seminar is titled “In Defense of Democracy: Getting Out the Vote in an Age of Heightened Voter Suppression.”

It’s free, and takes place at 1 p.m. on Sunday, July 26.

Experts will discuss tactics of voter suppression and their impact on fair representation in state houses and in the halls of Congress.

“Voter disenfranchisement and low voter participation are real threats to our democracy,” said Howard Lindsay, co-chair of the Black-Jewish group, featured in a June story in J. They are linked, Lindsay said, to “racial, social and economic justice.”

Panelists will include Andrea Miller, executive director of the Reclaim Our Vote campaign;

Ricardo Ramirez, a voting rights adviser at the Brennan Center for Justice; and Pablo Rodriguez, executive director of Communities for a New California Education Fund.

“The right to vote is the citizen’s right to have a voice in the governance, organizing and evolution of our country,” Lindsay said. “The Unity Group is committed to the expansion of voting rights and the full participation of the electorate, especially those voices who have been marginalized and disenfranchised.”

Registration can be found here.