I spent the evening of the 2016 election arguing with a self-styled revolutionary who posted a number of memes about how useless and harmful voting is. Now that Trump is president, he’s one of his most vocal critics, constantly talking about the horror of putting children in cages and a sexual predator on the Supreme Court.
I hope he will vote this time. Because an imperfect candidate is better than a Nazi. It’s worse to have immigrant children in cages than not in cages. An end to Roe vs. Wade is terrifying, and an objectively likely outcome of this administration. Moderate is better than fascist. Bad is better than terrible. Say what you want about Hillary Clinton. I certainly have. But life would be better, especially for the most vulnerable among us, if she had won the election.
Please vote. The ballot you cast can make a difference in someone else’s life. It could save their life or their child’s life. It could save your life. Please.
A Word of Caution: Why Now Isn’t the Time to Attack Non-Voters
I’ve seen a lot of self-congratulatory Facebook and social media posts bashing non-voters. It’s true that in many swing states, if a small fraction of non-voters had voted for Clinton, she would have won. It’s true in almost every election that who chooses to vote and who doesn’t decides the election. People who don’t vote have a lot of power. Our collective goal should be to get them to wield that power, not waste it.
I don’t think there’s much value in shaming people who didn’t vote in 2016. It only makes them defensive. This defensiveness causes them to seek out reasons not to vote again. So let’s stop the collective blaming of non-voters, many of whom had very real reasons for not voting.
I have black friends who boycotted the vote because they felt taken for granted by Democrats who have done little to show that they believe black lives really do matter. I have poor and working class friends who insist that neither party is really interested in what is right for them. And I know a lot of people who are angry at the Democrats for continuing to show little backbone in the face of the most regressive White House we’ve seen in my lifetime.
I sympathize. I understand. And I don’t intend to waste one shred of energy making these non-voters feel bad. Neither should you. They are not our enemy. Treating them as such will not change their minds. So let’s quit the blaming and shaming and look to the future.
Here’s why everyone needs to vote.
Why Not Voting Makes Democrats More Conservative
Most people I know who don’t vote do so to punish Democrats—for being too cowardly, for being too conservative, for not listening to people of color.
It’s an impulse I know well. The cowardice some Democrats show is enraging. The racism they show in taking black voters for granted is beyond the pale.
But withholding the vote doesn’t work and never will work.
History has shown that when Democrats lose elections, the message they get is that they need to be more conservative. Witness Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who recently decided to ignore his sobbing constituents and vote for putting a sexual predator on the Supreme Court. Consider the fact that, until recently, almost every Democrat said they didn’t support gay marriage.
When we don’t vote, we send the wrong message to our elected officials. They do the wrong thing to try to get us to vote next time. Every time a Democrat—even a terribly flawed one—loses to a Republican, the party becomes more conservative. Progress slows.
It bears repeating: bad is better than terrible.
The good news is that in this election, many of us don’t have to choose between bad and terrible. There are some truly progressive Democrats running. These people want real change and real liberation. They promise to stand up to Donald Trump. If we reject that message, there will be fewer of them next time.
What’s at Stake
Every election in every district across this country matters. There are referendums designed to further disenfranchise poor and black formerly incarcerated people. There are school board elections that could determine whether children learn about evolution and slavery. And of course, there’s the chance to flip the House and the Senate.
If Democrats take the House and Senate, there will be no more anti-choice justices on the Supreme Court. Donald Trump will be held accountable for his actions. We can all be a little less terrified. That alone should be reason to vote.
People’s lives are at stake here. In my home state of Georgia, we’ll be electing a governor. Our choice is between a progressive black woman and a hateful racist who thinks that women who get pregnant from rape should have to die for the rapist’s baby. If Stacey Abrams wins, Georgia abortion clinics might remain open even if the Supreme Court weakens Roe vs. Wade. If Brian Kemp wins, Georgia could end up litigating new anti-abortion legislation. That could end in a case before the Supreme Court that destroys Roe v. Wade.
States all across the country present similar choices. For those of us who care about any human rights issue—abortion, equal pay, an end to police brutality, protecting disability rights, quality education, affordable housing, a living wage—this election offers a clear dichotomy between good and evil.
Voting as Social Justice
Voting is an act of social justice. Many non-voters I know are relatively affluent white people. Perhaps they can afford not to vote. They’ll be among the last to suffer if Donald Trump has his way. Their children won’t go in cages. They’ll be able to fly to another country to get a life-saving abortion. They don’t have to worry about being murdered because of the color of their skin.
Not voting is often an act of privilege that directly oppresses other people. Choosing to vote opens the door to liberation for people from all walks of life, but especially those who are most vulnerable—poor people, immigrants, people of color, women.
Not everyone can vote. The U.S. locks up more of its citizens than any other nation. After they’re released, many former inmates no longer have the right to vote. No wonder criminal justice reform has been so slow. No wonder politicians from all parties get away with legislation designed to torture and abuse people in prisons and jails.
Vote for people who can’t vote. Vote for their interests.
Why Your Vote Does Matter
Most of us have heard a quote attributed to Emma Goldman: “If voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal.”
It must change things, because across the nation they are trying to make it illegal. In Georgia, Brian Kemp is running for governor while acting as Secretary of State. He’s purged voter rolls, publicized misleading information, and done everything he can to suppress the vote.
In Texas, a black woman just began a five-year jail sentence for the crime of attempting to vote after losing the right to vote.
In Georgia, the actions of a county clerk caused a group of black senior voters to be removed from a bus that was taking them to vote.
Voting is becoming illegal. Stem this tide by voting for candidates who will stop suppressing and punishing voters. There’s only one party trying to prevent people from voting. There’s only one party targeting black voters for criminal prosecutions. It’s the Republicans. A vote against them is a rebuke of voter suppression.
Votes do change things. A different vote in 2016 would have radically shifted the direction of the Supreme Court. That could have had radically progressive reverberations into the next generation. Instead, we’re worried about whether our fellow citizens will lose basic rights. Instead, our government is attempting to deport the children of American citizens.
We can still get climate change under control, but we only have about 10 years to do so. The way you vote in this election will in large part determine what happens over the next 10 years.
Voting changes things. It might not always change them as quickly as we would like. But that, too, might change if more of us voted. Vote for the true progressives in primaries. Make those in elected office truly fear their constituents. Show them that if they vote for corporate interests instead of human interests, they will lose their jobs.
Change is Slow and Steady
The wave of protests in the wake of Trump’s election have inspired many people, some for the first time, to get more involved in politics. It’s heartening. It’s often electrifying. Perhaps that’s why I see more people talking about revolutionary change, about truly building a better society. I want that, too.
Here’s the problem: many of these folks talking about revolutionary change don’t want to vote because they think voting is irrelevant. They think the change that comes from voting is too slow, that this moment in history is too urgent.
Every moment in history has been to urgent to wait. And yet change has always been slow and meandering. Two steps forward and one step back. Today’s radical is tomorrow’s moderate. Tomorrow’s moderate is the next generation’s conservative.
I hope that things will change quickly, that protests will work, that lawsuits will give rise to sudden overnight changes as they did when a lawsuit legalized gay marriage. In the meantime, better is better than worse. A slight improvement is better than a descent into total horror.
Voting can make things a little better over the next few years. And by demanding better candidates, slowly and steadily voting for them, and continuing to make clear that we will use the ballot box to take the jobs of people who undermine human rights, we can slowly move toward full liberation for everyone.
Please vote. In many states, you can vote early, so you don’t have to worry about a sick child or a last-minute transportation snafu making voting difficult. Need help voting? Here are some resources:
Free rides to the polls from Uber
State-by-state voting guides
Find your polling place
Help for voter suppression