By Democracy Matters E-Board | November 4, 2024
Photo Credit: Peter Rimar / Wikimedia Commons
We understand why you might not want to vote. You may think your vote doesn’t matter. The presidential candidates may disappoint you with their policies. The voting process can get complicated and frustrating. If we want to achieve the progress we believe voting will bring, we must first acknowledge that these are all valid concerns.
As the youngest voting generation, we’ve been concerned about politics since we were casting mock votes for Barack Obama or Mitt Romney in elementary school. We’ve feared for our safety from school shootings from the time we were the same age as the victims of Sandy Hook until we were the same age as the victims of Parkland.
As snow-related cancellations decreased and flood-related cancellations increased, we've taken the climate crisis into our own hands by making sustainable choices in our daily lives, maybe even participating in a school rally. We’ve continually been enraged by police brutality and systemic racism, protesting those in power’s lack of action and educating ourselves on how we can hold ourselves accountable.
We’ve persevered through a pandemic and the inequities brought with it, threats to our bodily autonomy, hateful rhetoric targeting our communities and the repression of our First Amendment rights to protest just a few months ago.
Despite our lives always being affected by these policy decisions and lack thereof, we have never had a say in them. Casting your vote in this election will allow it to be our turn to impact policy as it has impacted us. We have the opportunity to vote for those who will best advocate for the individual needs of our hometowns and our collective goals for the state, country, and world.
Whoever you choose to vote for or not in this presidential race, you can still put forth building blocks in your local communities by voting for the issues you hold dearly. Local politics can bring much-needed funds to areas you care about, ranging from education to sanitation to library hours.
We have the chance to directly approve or deny solutions to issues we are passionate about, by supporting New York’s Proposition 1, which would be the most inclusive state Equal Rights Amendment to date. The outcome of our voting this year will not just determine who will be the next President of the United States, it will determine how our concerns will be heard.
Our fight does not end after this election. We must continue the fight. We must use our frustration to call for reform, and the first step is voting.
If you see any problems at polling places - malfunctioning machines, long lines, voter intimidation, attempts to create obstacles or deny anyone’s right to vote or any other anti-democratic actions - call the Election Protection Hotline at 866-687-8683.
To learn what’s on your ballot, visit:
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