In ANY country, but specifically if you live in the US, are of age, and are capable of it in any shape or form. Even though it’s not presidential elections. Even though you might think it won’t matter.
Please vote.
I understand it’s not easy all the time. I realize that saying ‘your workplace is legally required to let you go vote’ doesn’t do squat if your boss doesn’t care about the law. I am familiar with how difficult it is to have to slog through campaigns full of catchy, nice-looking words that, upon closer inspection, reveal a much more sinister and selfish political goal.
I was able to vote by mail in my state - by ordering an absentee ballot online, having it sent to me, filling it out, and sending it in by mail again. It was great because I had the time to sit with it and read through all the options presented before me.
There are MANY states which require NO-EXCUSE-NEEDED absentee voting. (As in, they’ll simply send you a ballot in the mail if you ask.)
Please, if you find it difficult to vote in person on the day of, check and see if it’s possible for you to vote by mail. In many cases, your state site may have an easy online application for you to order your ballot and receive it as quick as 2-4 days.
Many states also allow you to vote early, on a day that you actually have off!
https://www.vote.org/early-voting-calendar/
And as for the ballot itself - tons of websites now offer you on-demand lists of people on your ballot, with explanations on their states and what they’re about - and the only thing you need is your zipcode! I typically use the one my state provides, but you can also get them for basically anywhere by going to this website:
www.vote411.org
And look...
I know it isn’t a walk in the park, and I know politicians disappoint many of us, and it’s A) difficult to trust them and B) difficult to know you’re voting for a person who will make good choices. But we live in an age of information where we can look up what people’s stances are, what they’ve done in the past, and this is MUCH EASIER than it once was!
Don’t let people persuade you that voting does nothing! Look at Brazil!
People who tell you that voting is useless are trying to stop you from voting - BECAUSE THEY, THEMSELVES, ARE OFTEN VOTING.
I come from an actual country where our votes haven’t meant SHIT for 20 years in a row. This shit built up slow and steady - boiling the frog, as it were. The US is far from perfect. But it’s far from pointless to vote, and KEEP voting.
Don't forget to vote this November! My family is setting up a voting party so that we'll go early vote together! 😁
Here's a woman's story about how she was essentially denied her right to vote due to her motor impairment.
I have essential tremors (which isn't as severe as a motor impairment as this woman has). But yes. I can't sign my name the same way every time. On bad days I have to have someone go to the doctor for me to fill out paperwork. When I filled out my vote registration for the first time. Not only was it rejected due to mistyped info (the person entering the info couldn't read my handwriting so my application was denied due to an incorrect SSN). But they couldn't contact me because they entered the wrong email address and phone number as well!
And your seriously demanding disabled people, many of us having motor impairments, sign our signature the same way every time? You can't even differentiate the letters k and h in my handwriting apparently.
Republican Brian Kemp, who is running for Georgia Governor and sharing the Republican ticket with Herschel Walker, has implemented extremist policies and laws like signing legislation that restricts access to voting. Stacey Abrams, the Democratic nominee for Georgia Governor, encourages Georgia voters to cast votes early to counteract Kemp’s voter suppression tactics. "I would argue that anyone looking at the totality of Mr. Kemp's history, they know who he is, and they know what he's done," Abrams tells Joy Reid.
“Oregon voters have narrowly passed a measure that decrees health care a human right.
Measure 111 makes Oregon the first state in the nation to change its constitution to explicitly declare affordable health care a fundamental right.
The amendment reads: “It is the obligation of the state to ensure that every resident of Oregon has access to cost-effective, clinically appropriate and affordable health care as a fundamental right.”” -Oregon Public Broadcasting, 11/14/22
Not to get political (again) but this is a friendly reminder to anyone having upcoming elections in their countries and is still thinking their vote doesn't matter:
Brazil kicked a literal fascist out of presidential office and my vote helped us get there.
Maybe if the 5.700.443 people who didn't vote for either candidate had voted for Lula, we wouldn't have had such a close election.
Maybe if 3.000.000 of those 5.700.443 people who didn't vote for either candidate had voted for Bolsonaro while the remaining ones kept their neutrality, the whole world would have been mourning Amazon's imminent annihilation right now.
Register. Vote. Encourage other people to do the same. Take them to the ballots yourself if you have to. Politics is a chess game. Make your move.