Leaders and Voting
We are told that Voting is our civic duty, but we are never really told why. Voting is an old concept passed down through generations of Civilizations who practiced some form of Democracy. The United States Consitution as originally written did not specify who could vote. That decision was largely left up to the states in the early History of the Country, which started a never-ending System of Oppression. Voter Suppression is still a problem in this Country. Many different strategies are used by politicians to suppress certain demographics such as reduction of polling locations, switching of polling times; etc; But there are many ways to fight Voting Suppression. And it takes the Leaders within the community to lead the charge against these racist policies and practices.
Laws aimed at Voter Suppression are the worst since the Jim Crow Era. States like Georgia have adopted some of the nation’s most restrictive election laws. These laws are suspected of substantially suppressing Black Voter turnout. There’s a need for more Black and Brown candidates within our Country. But there is also a simple need for more Candidates that are connected to the Community. The effort to increase Voting Participation within our Community is not only because our People feel like Our Votes don’t count, but also because of a lack of being able to identify with the people we are voting for. This is not a fight that can only be fought by Civil rights organizations, but it is a fight that the Community must take charge and lead. Our system of Voting affects not only those who can Vote but also those who don’t, as the Electing of Judges and other positions at the local level affect our Daily lives and how sustainable those are. Gerrymandering is another major problem, one that we are fighting within our State currently. These are all attempts, rather than outright denying people votes, to make sure that Black and Brown people don’t have political power.
If you feel like you are a leader within your community, then you must lead the charge in increasing Voter participation in your area. There are many ways each one of us could help, which include but are not limited to the following:
Address Voters Personally
Effectively Attract Voters Through Conversation
Thank Voters when they do Participate
Activate Young Voters
Finding innovative ways to get voters at a young age to Participate. If they do not feel like their issues are being heard and talked about then they will not feel the need to participate.
Create innovative ways to remind your community about Voting, like creating short videos, making a song, drawing, etc;
Leadership is about stepping out past your boundaries to complete a task the world needs. I believe every one of us carries the capacity to do so, it just takes a little push towards greatness sometimes. If Making America Great is the plan, then that plan needs to be an inclusive one, not a separate and unequal one.