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#youth vote
kp777 · 11 months
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By Kenny Stancil
Common Dreams
Apr 25, 2023
"We need you to deliver the bold ideas that our generation cannot live without—stop the climate crisis, fight for the rights and dignity of immigrants, impose real gun control—and run on a bold platform that will get our generation out to vote."
In response to U.S. President Joe Biden's Tuesday announcement that he is seeking reelection in 2024, four youth-led advocacy groups urged the incumbent to push for progressive priorities during the remainder of his first term and campaign on policies that motivate young voters to cast ballots for him.
In a letter addressed to Biden, March for Our Lives, Gen Z for Change, Sunrise Movement, and United We Dream Action wrote: "If we're going to excite one of the leading voting blocs for Democrats, we need you to deliver the bold ideas that our generation cannot live without—stop the climate crisis, fight for the rights and dignity of immigrants, impose real gun control—and run on a bold platform that will get our generation out to vote."
"As the organizers of millions of young people across the country, we know that in order to secure wins against fascism in the 2024 presidential election, Millennials and Gen Z will have to turn out to vote in full force," the groups argued, sounding the alarm about the dire consequences likely to ensue if the increasingly authoritarian Republican Party takes control of the White House.
"Young people are not just a necessary part of a winning Democratic coalition, but the keystone precondition for Democratic victory... When Democrats energize and mobilize our generations, they win elections. When they don't, they lose."
"Following the results of 2018, 2020, 2022, and most recently the Wisconsin Supreme Court election in 2023, it is clear that young people are not just a necessary part of a winning Democratic coalition, but the keystone precondition for Democratic victory," says the letter. "The equation is simple. When Democrats energize and mobilize our generations, they win elections. When they don't, they lose."
"Going into 2024, our youth coalition is deeply committed to defeating fascist, right-wing extremism and the eventual Republican presidential nominee," the letter continues. "Young people are clear that the runaway extremism of abortion bans, threats to trans students, criminalization of immigrants, and the all-out assault on our climate are existential threats to our generation and generations to come."
However, when the Biden administration makes "bad decisions"—such as approving the Willow oil drilling venture and other fossil fuel projects, entertaining the revival of migrant family detentions, or otherwise "settling for the status quo"—it becomes "harder for us to get young people to the polls," the groups lamented. "That's why we need you to listen and co-govern with us if we're going to be able to mobilize the young voters we need to win."
The organizations implored Biden "to lead with our generation's values and policies at the forefront of your campaign and your next year in office," contending that his 2020 platform was essential to defeating former President Donald Trump—who is seeking the Republican nomination for 2024 despite facing various legal issues—and that progressive policymaking, particularly last summer, inspired the young voters who ultimately minimized the Democratic Party's losses in the 2022 midterms.
In the spring of 2022, "young voters were largely disillusioned with politics and were not excited to vote," states the letter. "That changed once you passed a historic climate bill, passed overdue gun safety legislation, and sought to cancel student loan debt—resulting in the second-highest youth midterm turnout in the past 30 years. Now, more than ever, we cannot abandon this two-part strategy—run on bold ideas young people can rally behind and have significant legislative victories to back them up."
"We urge you to not leave our generation behind as you build your new campaign. Do not take our generation for granted."
"Going into the 2024 presidential election, it is clear that our opponents are getting even more ruthless and extreme," the groups warned. "Across the country we've seen abortion bans, transgender bathroom bans, [and] book bans in schools imposed by Republican extremists. We've seen Republican electeds say they will do nothing to stop gun violence, expel those who disagree with them from office, and attempt to ban educational opportunities and threaten the livelihood of immigrants in our communities. They must be stopped."
"We urge you to not leave our generation behind as you build your new campaign," says the letter. "Do not take our generation for granted."
"We are a generation that grew up through crisis—from watching storms decimate our communities to practicing school shooter drills to living through a global pandemic," the letter adds. "Throughout all of these crises, young people have shown up to demand the transformational change the country needs. We are fighters for a better world. That will not change in 2024."
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Kellyanne Conway just got a strong reminder why Republicans have a problem winning over young voters.
The former Donald Trump adviser went on Fox News on Monday night to discuss the GOP’s electoral chances, and she admitted to host Laura Ingraham that the party has “some work to do” with millennials and Gen Z.
But she suggested Democrats’ success with the demographic was due to messaging ― not policy.
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Conway cited President Joe Biden’s plan to enlist social media influencers in his yet-to-be-announced reelection campaign, calling it a “smart strategy” and telling Ingraham she was “really concerned” about Democrats being a “turnout machine” for younger voters.
She’s right that Republicans have an uphill battle when it comes to getting new voters to their side.
A 2020 NBC exit poll revealed 65% of voters between the ages of 18 and 24 voted for Biden, his strongest age group by 11 points.
But the conservative pundit didn’t do much to woo young people herself, choosing instead to decry influencers’ “lemming-like effect” on young voters, who just “want to be part of the same crowd.”
Twitter users weren’t buying it, of course.
One young voter, 2020 Biden delegate Victor Shi, had some helpful suggestions.
“Hey Kellyanne Conway: instead of complaining how young people are voting for Democrats, maybe you & your party should actually do something to address our concerns,” the UCLA undergraduate tweeted. “Instead of taking away our rights & banning books & drag shows, listen to us & enact real policies. Just a thought.”
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Other people wondered how Conway could speak to winning young voters when she has such a rocky relationship with 18-year-old daughter Claudia Conway.
“Kellyanne can’t even get her own teenage daughter to be on her side politically but sure, interview her for advice on how to turn out the youth vote,” read one post that was liked over 10,000 times.
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The younger Conway is already a vocal critic of conservatives. She celebrated Trump’s indictment last Tuesday with a tweet saying she’d been “waiting” for his arrest since she “was 14.”
Check out more Twitter responses to Kellyanne Conway’s comments below:
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itgetsbetterproject · 2 years
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PSA, if you're not 18 yet, there's still SO much you can do during Election Season. Like...
🇺🇸Volunteer to be a poll worker (some states only require you to be 16)
🏳️‍🌈Research & know the candidates
🏳️‍⚧️Encourage others to vote on issues that will affect YOU and your friends!
🇺🇸Be someone's "accountability buddy" to make sure they vote
🏳️‍🌈Volunteer on a local campaign (school board, city council, mayor, state legislators) to start learning about the process!
And if you are 18? *deep breath* REGISTER NOW!
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They’ve been scared of it for decades but it still isn’t stopping them. The youth vote never worked out for the Dems even when millions of young boomers took to the streets to protest Vietnam, Nixon, and Republikkkan terror at home. Their is no grand coalition of young people, marginalized people, and recent immigrants. Pundits like Van Jones can preach this all he wants in an attempt to make it reality but it’s simply not happening, never has, and likely never will.
The Republikkkans have had great and expanding success with their simple strategy of regional separation. The push the notion that the South is inherently more free, more moral, and more patriotic. Which is bullish-t on every level. They’ve even managed to expand this into the west and mid-west while making inroads into the rural counties of the few blue states left. They keep the people poor and angry and then they make the northern and west coast Dems the villains, the scapegoats just like Hitler did. Everything northern, blue, and urban is evil because propaganda works best when oversimplified to black and white.
The red states are so heavily radicalized that their youth vote red while many of our youth don’t bother to vote. Further the Republikkkans are still drawing deeply from the affluent “Log Cabin Republicans” (LGBT) who prioritize their pocket books and own racism over their very existence. Recent immigrants voting blue hasn’t existed since the mid 1800’s yet the Republikkkans still use it as a talking point. Immigrants nearly always side with the loud mouth autocrats in the GQP because it reminds them of the “strongman” autocrats they left behind. Anyone from a recent immigrant family or community can vouch for this. The only time it’s not true is in blue states where the Dems allow good paying entry level jobs that don’t require mastery of English. Voting Republikkkan makes immigrants feel like super patriots and they think it will help them blend in easier and quicker. Even with the massive rise in anti-Asian and anti-Semitic violence those two groups still vote their pocket books. And for the life of me I’ll never understand why 1/3, and growing, of the Hispanic population votes GQP. Especially in the border states where they are treated the worse. They literally chant “send those sp-cs” back at Trump rallies and other GQP events.
The biggest, and perhaps mortal, mistake the Dems ever made was to shift away from its base of union workers to embrace every group under the sun when all those groups have spotty voting records at best. They don’t vote, don’t vote regularly, and as mentioned often vote GQP. Some may not like that and find it insensitive but it’s a truth that is overlooked by the ultra-liberal, educated elite, and the so called mainstream media. The focus should always have been on expanding union rights since they had excellent Democratic turn out. At the same time attempts should have been made to attract marginalized people. It never should have been one or the other, that was a catastrophic mistake. Biden is the first high level Dem since the 60’s to realize this mistake and is working to bring unions back.
Many of us on the left still have bought into endless attacks on unions produced by Republikkkan oligarchs who want every hindrance to profit removed regardless of the human cost. Just like so many bought into the decades of repugnant attacks against Hillary which gave us Trump and MAGA. Nearly all unions are pro-Democrat. The only unions that are pro-Republikkkan are police unions that get everything they want from local Republikkkan officials who need them as foot soldiers. There are still a handful of law enforcement unions, mainly in the north, that are pro-Dem because they realize the value of unions as a whole. Once Repubs have stamped out all the other unions they will weaken and eventually eliminate them as well.
People on our side just don’t recognize what unions do for a free society. Most know the basics of higher wages, sick leave, benefits like over-time, health insurance, protections against unjust/illegal termination, guaranteed raises, vacations (often paid), and the basic human dignity of not having to grovel at the bosses feet. Further, and this is important and overlooked, unions provide work place safety and security for marginalized people. African-Americans, LGBT, immigrants, young, women, old, religious minorities, the handicapped and infirm all have a place where they are safe to work. Most importantly union workers have built in recourses if management becomes hostile or takes unfair or prejudicial action.
Yes all institutions have faults as they are run by people and people are not infallible. But your union dues provide you with shop stewards and if necessary legal representation. You don’t get that anywhere else. No non-union company will protect you if you are discriminated against you. Workers have a contract with their union that is contractually bound to protect them. It doesn’t always work in a very small number of instances where lower level union shop stewards are corrupted by management but 99% of the time it functions as planned and goes on smoothly without us even being aware. Of course when something doesn’t work out the media blows it out of proportion leading us to think every institution is corrupt.
How many workers hate their underpaid jobs where they have no chance of advancement, wage theft, long hours, at will scheduling, abusive bosses, unsafe working conditions, and fear of termination? That’s not how it is when you have a job with a strong union. Again nothing is perfect but union work places are vital to our democracy and the protection of marginalized people who would in millions of cases unable to even find work. That’s something to stop and think about before you go off on an imaginary blue collar white union worker you believe voted for Trump. Remember you are buying into Republikkkan propaganda whenever you disparage unions.
And if you want that youth vote to turn the tide then get off your backsides and start educating the young people in your orbit before Fox News MAGAts radicalize them.
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rainybiwitch · 3 months
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A short list of things that would make me not dread the 2024 election and would encourage the youth vote.
Democrat pundits are despairing over the fuckin youth vote and wondering “oh why do they not want Biden”. Pundits are busy freaking out in the news that Trump is leading. So in case any fuckin political strategist needs a cool answer to make young folks vote for them? I have a quick and simple guide. Fucking prove you are worthy (for those on other social media, feel free to repost this)
1) For the love of god, stop trying to be moderates. If your argument is “at least I am not the other guy” then you are literally awful. No one Will enthusiastically vote for you. It is like putting a burnt fuckin broccoli piece next to literal shit and saying “at least it isn’t literal shit”.
2) I have a cool fun list of things that would make people under 40, the majority of the voting populace vote for you listed below. Since you guys are idiots, I put it in an alphabet so you can remember it.
A is for Abortion. Advocate for the full legalization of abortion everywhere. Codify Roe. Repeal the fucking Hyde Act.
B is for Book Bans. Stop book bans. Fight book bans.
C is for Climate: Step up and fight climate change instead of approving new drilling projects on indigenous lands.
D is for Drug Shortages: stop fucking drug shortages. 80% of the folks with adhd I know do not take meds on a schedule as prescribed because of the shortages. Folks with adhd, diabetes, cancer, all need fucking meds. Fix drug shortages and make it affordable again.
E is for energy efficiency. We want things that make our homes work well, and accessible energy efficiency devices. Better for the environment and the electric bill.
F is for food. Make food affordable. Make it high quality. We deserve the same quality of food as the EU gets.
G is for Genocide: Stop fucking funding genocide. Seriously. 20,000+ Palestine civilian deaths, atrocities in Yemen, you name it. Just stop fucking funding genocide and committing war crimes. Civilians are not fucking war targets. That is called ethic cleansing
H is for housing: As in we would like to afford housing. Make housing affordable again.
I is for income: Make income stronger again. Raise the minimum wage, make policy that increases income in all fields.
J is for Joe Biden: Make him do some of this shit, or find us a new candidate
K is for kiddos: Make it so schools are able to feed kids, kids are protected from gun violence, and get to learn art, tech, music, science, math, English, foreign languages, comprehensive health, social studies, civics, and more.
L is for legalize: Legalize weed on a federal level. None of this rescheduling shit. Just fucking legalize it. It provides tax money, it helps people.
M is for make things happen: Like seriously, make these things happen. Stop waffling around
N. Is for net neutrality: Strengthen net neutrality, strengthen privacy rights, stand up for civilian rights to privacy in person and online.
O is for Ohio: As in focus on other states too. We also deserve your love and attention
P is for Paid Leave: Advocate for universal paid leave. 10 fuckin states do it and it works well. Advocate for maternity and paternity leave.
Q is for Queer: Queer rights. Fucking fight back for queer folks. We deserve marriage equality, healthcare access, and representation
R is for Reaganomics: Fucking get rid of it. It hasn’t worked for 50 years and won’t work the next 50.
S is for Student Loan Debt: Get serious on student loan debt. Appoint more judicial officials, grow teeth
T is for teachers. Support teachers. Make it a safe environment. Stop fucking letting Don’t Say Gay laws to pass.
U is for universal healthcare options: We are one of the only developed nations without it
V is for VPN and Cyber Security: Fortify our electric grid, protect civil rights so we don’t need a goddamn VPN, invest in cyber and programming.
W is for Walkability: Make places more walkable.
X is for Xenophobia. As in fight xenophobia. Have your foreign policy fight that too.
Y: Youthquake: Guess what, most your voters are under 40. Pay fucking attention to us.
Z: Zero tolerance for treason: Get your goddamn act together. Remember 1/6/21. Actually arrest folks and do shit.
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unrelatedwaffle · 5 months
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Being an Old again: it's about to be an election year in the US. If you're annoyed with the choices you have in the general election, start planning your voting strategy NOW for the primaries:
1. Are you registered to vote? Find out how at vote.gov
1a. Are you registered for your party of choice? Make sure you select the party you want to participate in the primary for on your voter registration!
2. Once you're registered, make sure you have the proper ID for your state
3. Find your polling place
4. Make a transportation and schedule plan for voting. Make a calendar invite to request the day off or part of the day off from work or school well in advance. Figure out how you'll get there. Sometimes public transit or ride shares are free on voting day, and community groups will often organize rides to the polls. Research this NOW.
5. Tell a friend or family member about your voting plan and tell them to hold you accountable.
6. Find out what will be on your ballot. If you search for "what's on my ballot (county and state)" MANY secretary of state websites will let you print out a sample ballot with everyone's name you can fill out at home and bring with you.
7. Research the candidates. The primaries are a great time to vote for the person you think represents you best. Don't try to 4D chess who is "electable" in the general. Now is the time to pick the person you actually WANT.
8. Fill out your sample ballot.
9. VOTE!
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whenweallvote · 4 months
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Youth voters SHOWED UP and TURNED OUT in Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court election, sending a message that there are no “off years!”
When compared to 2021’s Supreme Court election, youth voter turnout on key college campuses more than DOUBLED.
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I think that for people who are still undecided on whether they will vote, continuing to give them lists of reasons to vote which are made up of reasons that have already not convinced them to vote, won't help you accomplish your goal of turning out new voters- which is what can really swing elections in your favor.
So let's brainstorm.
Because if our messaging isn't moving potential voters, it's on us to update our messaging.
What's something that would convince you to vote that you haven't already heard 100 times?
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tomorrowusa · 8 months
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Youth turnout exploded during the 2018 midterm elections under President Donald Trump. Then in 2020, energized opposition to Trump among young voters was critical to his defeat. And in the 2022 midterms, surging youth participation helped fend off the widely predicted “red wave.” Even some Republicans fear that expanding youth populations in swing states pose a long-term threat to the GOP.
New data supplied to me by the Harvard Youth Poll sheds light on the powerful undercurrents driving these developments. Young voters have shifted in a markedly progressive direction on multiple issues that are deeply important to them: Climate change, gun violence, economic inequality and LGBTQ+ rights.
– Greg Sargent at the Washington Post on the long term direction of younger voters.
Here's a graph which accompanies the article.
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NOTE: This polling was done in March – well before the wildfires, air quality decline, and record high temperatures of this summer.
On all four issues mentioned in the article (LGBTQ+ rights, climate action, economic security, stricter gun regulation) the Republican Party has appalling records which only continue to worsen. If anything, the GOP has gotten increasingly homophobic, more closely aligned with the NRA, more in denial about climate change, and perpetually opposed to food assistance for those in need. And of course Republicans suck bigtime on reproductive freedom; Republicans are endangering US national security in an anti-abortion hissy fit.
The only way to defeat Republicans is to vote Democratic and to never miss an election. Don't be misled by some third party self-anointed savior. Vanity candidates from minor parties never win and are often found to be getting financial backing from Republican sources.
Register and vote. And remember that if you've moved since the last election then you need to register with your new address.
Be A Voter - Vote Save America
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uboat53 · 1 year
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You know, with the results still being counted it's impossible to know for sure who will control the House or the Senate in two months, but one thing we do know for sure is that they will not feature the large Republican majorities that had been predicted before the election and I think that that should be credited in large part to President Biden, though not for the reasons that he would probably like. You see, it's because he's thoroughly uninspiring.
What do I mean by that? Look, I'm old enough to have voted in every Presidential election since 2004 and to remember elections all the way back to 1996 and one thing that has been fairly consistent in all of them is that the core supporters of the President have been genuinely inspired by them. I don't mean that in the sense of "yeah, he's a cool guy", I mean that in the sense of "I trust this person and think that they're going to make the world better". This was true of Trump, Obama, Bush Jr., and Clinton.
But it's not true of Biden. His core supporters, women, minorities, and young people, don't idolize him. In fact, to some degree they don't even fully trust him. To a much larger degree than any other President in my lifetime, Biden's core supporters do not believe that he alone will fix their problems.
And I remember this problem! I was one of those young people who powered Obama's win in 2008. My friends were enamored with him; several who hadn't really had any interest in voting deliberately got involved in 2008 just to vote for him. But in 2010, when he wasn't on the ballot, they didn't show up. The same thing happened more or less in 2014, to Trump in 2018, to Bush in 2006, and to Clinton in 1994 (1998 and 2002 were weird years with some unusual events going on).
Gen-Z and younger Millennials (those aged 18-29) just did what my generation did not and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that Biden doesn't inspire the same kind of adulation and even hero-worship that previous Presidents have. Young people may be among his core supporters but they don't trust that he and he alone will solve all of their problems, especially not after the Dobbs ruling and his inability to stop so many states from instituting harsh abortion bans. And, because Biden didn't or couldn't inspire them to trust that he would do everything for them, they turned out to vote because they felt that they had to do it themselves.
I think it's also important to recognize how rare this kind of youth engagement is. Going back in the data to the early 1970s when 18-20 year olds were first allowed to vote, 2022 has the second highest youth participation rate for a midterm election, second only to 2018. That said, the key battleground states saw even higher youth participation, on par with 2018. In other words, the young people are turning out to vote in even greater numbers when it matters most.
Personally, I think it's great. As an elder/geriatric Millennial, I remember how quickly Obama was kneecapped in his first term because those who had voted for him didn't keep turning out when it was needed. Seeing the younger generation overcome that today is fantastic and I hope it leads to a civically involved generation that keeps this kind of engagement up for their whole lives. Honestly the largest problem with American democracy these days is the amount of people who are unengaged and if a new generation can breathe new life into it I'll celebrate that!
So congratulations to Gen-Z and the younger Millennials for avoiding the trap that my generation fell into. May you continue to choose competent but uninspiring leaders in the future and keep for yourselves the task of preserving democracy.
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kp777 · 2 years
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gaykarstaagforever · 1 year
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"You can't let people under 18 vote! They'll elect Jake Paul and Charli D'Amelio!"
Ha ha yes, because those two are way worse than the money-eating fascist trolls holding office now.
Let's pretend they are. Even then, I highly suspect you aren't afraid of children electing vapid influencers, as much as you are afraid of them voting for principled socialists who will immediately make it illegal for angry racist Baby Boomers to have guns.
I'm pretty sure we would have far fewer 90 year old Congresspersons with stock in Big Oil if more 16 year olds could vote.
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jasoncanty01 · 11 months
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BACKFIRED: “A member of the Republican National Committee from Tennessee said expelling two Democratic lawmakers for their gun reform protests "didn't help" the party's brand and has now "energized young voters against us."
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A member of the Republican National Committee from Tennessee said that the vote by the GOP-led Tennessee House of Representatives to expel two Democratic lawmakers for their gun reform protests "didn't help" the party's brand and has now "energized young voters against us."
Oscar Brock, commenting on the Republican-led decision to expel state Reps. Justin Jones of Nashville and Justin Pearson of Memphis over their calls for action after the mass shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, told The New York Times that the repercussions of the GOP effort went beyond the loss of political support.
"If my job, along with other members of the RNC, is to protect the brand of the Republican Party, this didn't help," he told the newspaper. "You've energized young voters against us. Worse than squandering support, you've made enemies where we didn't need them." ------------------------------------------------ While this is good news, Moderates and Left leaning people that just want to move forward often take any good news and rest. But can't rest. It is Unfortunetly a constant struggle with regressive forces that always lay low in this country (and human history in general). 16 Million more Youth voters will be able to vote by 2024. And much of the old power fears this.
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jeannereames · 1 year
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Keep voting, folks. YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE. We might get to keep our democracy because of you.
But don't take your eyes off the ball. I'd like to bequeath you a better country than the one I grew up in.
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