A quick note to get out the vote
Check your voter registration!
Happy October of presidential election year!
If you’re in the US, this email is for you! If not, well, maybe stick around and see how broken our system is…or not 😅
You might be wondering why I’m writing this now and not late October or early November. And in a perfect world, I wouldn’t have to be writing this at all. But we do not live in that world and because we don’t, you need to go check your voter registration right now.
Yes, you. Go check it. Now.
Use this link: https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/
Are you registered to vote? Great! Take a breath for now.
Are you not registered? Go register online if you can, or make a plan to register in person.
Some states have registration deadlines a month before the election (puts that date at October 7th this year). But don’t wait until then! Do it now!
Some states have deadlines closer to the election, and others you can register the same day.
Check your state’s deadline and early voting options here: https://www.usvotefoundation.org/state-election-dates-and-deadlines
But we all must remain vigilant!
States are purging voters! Even if you’ve voted in every single election for the past decade or longer, they still might remove you from the voter roll. (This purge happened in August in Texas. And this purge in North Carolina happened last week.)
Why?
Because less turnout usually means more victories for the Republicans. They DO NOT want people to vote. They DO NOT want the democratic process to take place.
If you live in a state where you cannot register to vote on election day, set a reminder in your calendar to check your registration on the deadline day. If you’re still in the system, great! You should be okay. If not, make sure you have a plan to register on that day.
Every vote counts.
Yes, even in our fucked up electoral college system your vote still matters. For more than just the presidential election.
If we want progress, we need to vote in a House and Senate that will be able to actually do things.
We need to vote in local races to impact our communities in a positive way.
Yes, the presidential election, especially this year, is incredibly important. But everything else is, too.
Make sure to look up your ballot before the election. Every state has a different way to do this, so please search for your state. I unfortunately couldn’t find a one-site-fits-all-states solution to link here.
Research the candidates in every race, if you need to. If you have referendum questions, research those, too, especially if they’re worded in a tricky way (like they are here in Wisconsin). Vote in every race.
There is a lot at stake in this election. Trump has literally stated that if he gets voted in, no one will have to vote anymore.
When someone tells you who they are, believe them.
I will also admit, voting against someone is not a great motivator, which is unfortunately the camp I fall in. Do I love Kamala Harris? No. I disagree with her on a lot. But at least she’s not a wannabe dictator, we can try to pressure her to be more progressive, and we’ll live to vote another day.
Our two party system sucks.
I don’t agree with Trump on anything (in fact, most of the voting population disagrees with Project 2025, and yet, here we are). So at least I’ll be voting for the candidate that more closely aligns with my ideals and doesn’t want to take everyone’s rights away.
If you love Kamala, great! I’m happy you get to vote for a candidate you love!
If you really don’t want to vote for Kamala or Trump, that’s your right. I’m not going to shame you. I’m not going to try to convince you unless you have questions and truly want to talk it out (if that’s you, reply to this email or comment below! I’m happy to have a conversation about it).
But no matter your plan for who you want to vote for, please show up and vote on election day, through an absentee ballot, or through early voting.
Make a plan today.
Share your plan with someone if that helps you be more accountable. Share your plan with me if you want! I’m happy to be that someone.
Even though our system is fundamentally broken, please show up and vote.
I don’t believe in fearmongering people into doing the right thing, but I say this with all seriousness and if I didn’t truly believe it, I would not say it: it very possibly could be your last chance to vote if Trump gets elected.
After the 2016 election, when the Republicans had the presidency, senate, and house, I was terrified of what would happen and people laughed at my anxiety and told me to calm down. Everyone told me Roe v. Wade would never be overturned. Everyone told me it would be fine.
But it wasn’t fine. People lost rights and I’m done second guessing my own fears. A lot is at stake this year and we all need to be proactive and show up and vote.
Please do your part. And take some friends along - the more the merrier!
Thanks so much for venturing into the Blue Raspberry Patch with me! I love exploring all these sustainability and design topics in longer form and sharing little berries of info with you all. I’d be delighted if you’d join me here!