October 2024

Written By Paul Fleming

“Voting is Power” by Nicolas Lampert

Dear friends,

Like most, I’m feeling anxious, hopeful, and scared about the upcoming U.S. elections. It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions already and election day is still a month away. Living in the “swing state” of Michigan, I receive snail-mail from the presidential candidates almost daily, I can’t seem to avoid endless TV ads, and it seems everyone on social media has an opinion they want me to see. With all the emotion and wall-to-wall coverage, it’s easy to get lost in election-mania and lose sight of how voting can help make a better world possible. If you subscribe to this newsletter, you are a leader, do-er, or change-maker and you likely are already planning to vote (if you’re eligible), and/or you have voted in the past. But with everything swirling, it is critical to anchor ourselves in exactly where voting fits into our work for social change. Let’s get something out of the way first. Voting is not, nor should be, the only way to make a better world possible. Community organizing, collective action, lobbying, protests, mutual aid, relation-building and many other actions help lead to social change.

But those other change efforts are also connected to voting, elections, and elected officials. Community organizers often need to build power to persuade an elected official to make decisions that will positively impact their community. Labor unions can seek public promises from candidates and hold them accountable to those promises at the ballot box. The ability to create positive change often depends on exactly who that elected official is. Some will be more sympathetic to community voices or unions and more willing to play ball. An unsympathetic elected official doesn’t make the change impossible, but it can make it more challenging. Voting is crucially important and so are all the other actions we do to build power and mobilize for change. Voting alone won’t get us there, but it is an important component.

You’ve likely heard people questioning whether we should vote at all. You may even harbor some of these thoughts yourself. Here are some of the things I’ve heard recently and some counter arguments to support why voting is an important part of making a better world possible:

  • Both candidates are bad, I’m going to sit this one out. In a two party system, both candidates may have positions you abhor. But, candidates and their values and policy preferences are multi-faceted. Considering all the different positions, you likely have a viewpoint on which candidate would make it a bit easier to build a better world. Vote accordingly! In addition, there are many other races and initiatives to vote on besides just the presidential race. Those races often impact local policies like housing affordability, policing, and public health that can have a big impact on people’s lives.

  • I’m just one vote, why doesit even matter? While one vote likely won’t decide the presidential race, it could decide down-ballot races that matter. And voting is contagious. If you say your vote doesn’t matter, your friends are likely to do the same thing. Then, that ‘one vote’ becomes many and it really could matter.

  • Voting won’t solve any of this. We need revolution! It’s true, the better world that many of us dream of looks drastically different and may require large-scale changes. It’s also true that a revolution could help get us there. But in the immediate future, we can take an action (voting) that can help shape the social and political context for the change work we engage in after the election.

Some still may not agree with me and I hope they engage in other strategies to make a better world possible. But for those who are ready, check out the back side for some ideas on how to get engaged in voting and beyond.

Take care and make a plan to get engaged,

Paul

Today’s Key Point:

Voting and participation in the election is a key aspect of making a better world possible.

Today’s Reflection Questions:

  • Ignoring all the noise around us, how do you personally see voting and elections as contributing, or not contributing, to making a better world possible?

  • Who in your life could use help getting registered to vote, making a voting plan, or getting more informed about candidates or ballot initiatives?

  • How could you help? How can you stay engaged in issues you care about at the ballot box long after the election in November?

Inspired reading/listening/viewing:

Paul Fleming
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