#please vote locally

[vintageseawitch]

"voting doesn't do anything"

"if voting actually did something, they would make it illegal"

"none of the politicians are on my side"

look... maybe some of this seems true. the issue is, why all the gerrymandering? why all the election interference? why make it so hard for people to vote? those who make it to office have the most votes because people went out & voted.

the recent primary in my state is completed & the results came in showing the majority of people who voted were over the age of 50 meanwhile millennial & gen z barely made 30% of their age demographic each. idk if this is anecdotal; maybe younger folks vote more in other areas... HOWEVER. if so many young people are choosing to not vote & allowing old people to make choices for all of us, THEN NO WONDER WE'RE STUCK WITH SHIT POLITICIANS. "voting doesn't do anything" BULLSHIT. if you think your voices aren't being heard but you're not even using it, THEN YOU CAN'T CLAIM VOTING DOESN'T WORK. it feels like such a copout. voting at our local level is extremely important & i wish people wouldn't take it for granted.

please vote as often as you can.

[dont-lick-my-foot]

please. i said please so now you gotta

[scrambledpancakes03]

Before the presidential debate...

I've got some thoughts.

While I know that even the "best" presidential outcome feels like a loss at this point, you do have to vote.

I totally understand not wanting to vote for Joe. There are a lot of reasons for that, some more valid than others. That's not my point rn. There's many genocides happening: read how joe is handling it from verified sources and make your own choices, I trust you'll do what you think is right. I'll just be here full of endless dread no matter what...

But for fucks sake before we all lose hope please remember...

Vote down ballot.

Conservatives win repeatedly all over the country and have been able to make life substantially harder for every individual working person, especially those with marginalized statuses... and it's not primarily due to the shit they've pulled in the Oval Office... it's because they're getting elected to sheriff's offices and school boards and zoning commissions and STATE LEGISLATURES.

Don't let your disillusionment with the president keep you from showing up for candidates you won't hear about from national news... because they are the ones who can save us.

Without progressives, leftists, and even more moderate liberals in local offices, every aspect of life gets substantially harder. Local programs shut down, public services are cut from city budgets, and police keep getting more and more absurd militarized resources. And in that environment, how would we ever stand in solidarity with people suffering around the world? Or even people marginalized here in the US?

Here are some (but not all) elected offices that may be on your ballot in the fall that need your attention in no particular order:

1. Secretary of state: oversees the states record keeping... including voting. Don't let them be fascists.

2. School Board: they decide pretty much everything to do with public school's funding, curriculum, and sometimes even personnel matters or district geography. They decide what your kids learn, where, how, and with whom. Don't let them be bigots.

3. District Attorney/Prosecutor: they decide what crimes have charges brought against them, and in what manner. They're the difference between a teenage kid being tried as an adult or a child for a felony, as well as other matters like that. Don't let them be racist.

4. Sheriff: have insane amounts of power over how criminal investigations are conducted and how a community is policed. FOR FUCKS SAKE STOP ELECTING RACISTS. Also we should just... reconsider the concept and maybe try not having sheriff offices at all. But that's a whole different goal.

5. Planning and zoning commissions: if you are struggling to get housing or stay housed, they are the reason there is little to no affordable housing in your area, because they decide what gets built or maintained in your area. Businesses, parks, houses... yeah. Don't let them be corporate puppets.

6. Public works commission: they control the utilities, the water, the trash, and the recycling. This is one of the main places the environmental movement should be looking to make change. They write regulations that can be used and enforced to reign whole groups of people and corporations in to make real collective change in the way we generate power, consume resources, and manage waste. They are also how we prevent more crisis situations like the one in Flint, MI.

7. City, state, and federal legislators. They write the laws. They appropriate the spending of your tax money. Stop narrowing your focus to the federal executive branch when the left needs to gain momentum writing laws at every level. Don't discount local change, because it adds up.

I know we are all focused on the genocides going on around the world right now. The best way we can continue helping as November comes and goes, is to elect local leaders who will support global liberation by writing laws and regulations that protect our free speech, ensure the quality and equity of our education, and commit to divestment from violence all over the world.

Okay? We all got this?

Can we all just agree to do this part, and we can fight about biden separately, please?

TLDR: Fuck you, vote in all the local races.

[the-voice-of-night-vale]

now im not saying anything about whether or not you ~should~ vote for the immigrant-hating palestinian-killer who happens to be a "democrat" but i swear if i see one more post about how "if everyone had just voted! trump never would have gotten in office and we don't want that to happen again!!" i'm gonna go chimp mode

trump didn't even win the popular vote, you idiots. am i the only one who remembers the weeks of protests because of it?

[thashining]

joyannreid

Tick tock… . Repost from @whenweallvote • In case you thought we left voting behind in 2024, here’s your reminder that EVERY year is an election year. 👀🗳️ According to our friends @BallotReady, there are more open seats on the ballot in 2025 than in 2024! This year, voters across the country will decide more than 100,000 local races including governors, mayors, school board officials, city council members, and more. From education to the environment, all of these people make decisions that impact us close to home. 🏡

[mintmentos]

So the problem isn’t sex education it’s gender huh

[mermaid-ish]

learn more here!!!

[vanity-complex]

Did you vote today cuck?

[havegaysex]

For the record I think people who aren't voting to be much worse and dangerous for democracy at large than people who protest vote.

[ettadunham]

sometimes i remember the hunger games and how nobody actually paid attention to what was in those books

[space-specs]

Your Guide To Voting in 2024

Yes, you may feel like everything is horrible and hopeless, and you don't want to vote. I'm here to not do that, and give you tips and info on why. Ultimately, I do not care what you actually vote only that you try to go and fill out something.

Make Sure You Are Registered to Vote

Check your registration status. This site has a drop down to select your state, which will link you to the website to check and see if you're registered.

Not registered? Go here. This site will tell you how to get registered in your state and will link you directly to the online registration if your state offers it.

Make sure you have a government issued photo ID. Driver's license, state ID, passport, etc. Many states require to you to present some form of ID to vote. Find out what counts in your state (and exceptions and provisional ballot rules) here.

Know you'll have difficulty making it to the ballot box? Check the rules for voting by mail/absentee voting in your state and see if you qualify.

Look up your sample ballot ahead of time! Lots of places provide a sample ballot which allows you to see what all the issues are ahead of time. Since this will vary by local elections, the best way to this is to look up "[your county name] sample ballot", possibly with the year tacked on to the end of the search. This may not be available until closer to election day, but it is a great way to get prepared for voting.

Other Voting Tips

This is where I get into the bit where it matters more to me that you vote than who you vote for. This is a personal principle of mine: everyone has the right to vote regardless of if I agree with what you choose to do with that vote.

You do not have to fill out every box on the ballot. You can leave some blank! Don't want to vote on President this year? Fine! Only want to vote on President and don't want to research other issues? Also fine. In fact, you can turn in a completely blank ballot if you want, and that is a political action, too. (Tip: parties note a blank box on issues because it indicates to them you were dissatisfied with your options)

You can bring notes with you! Too many issues to keep track of? Write yourself a note, print out a sample ballot and fill it out in advance to copy over, finding a voting guide and print it. As long as it is ON PAPER, you can bring it with you. (I verified this is universally allowed here)

Don't know where to start on research? The sample ballot is a great place to start just looking up candidates, but I also recommend checking out your local chapter of League of Women Voters. They put out a voters guides for each election that list pros and cons to various issues on the ballot.

The most important and most neglected elections are your local ones. Real grassroots change might be possible in your city, if you pay attention. Too overwhelmed by all this? Pick a few local issues to focus on, like the school board or city council. My city passed a trans-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance in a red state because people rallied around a handful of progressive city council members that swayed the vote. Even if everything feels hopeless, you make things better for yourself and your loved ones by actively engaging in your local politics.

Remember it's voting AND not voting OR. I know a lot of people are extremely dissatisfied with their options for this year's election, especially at the national level. Don't stop doing what you're doing. Don't stop protesting and boycotting and donating and talking about the things that matter to you. Get involved in your community. Find ways to make a difference. But also, go vote. Please.

Thank you for reading this. I hope something in here was helpful for you, and if it was, please consider reblogging this so that others can find it as well. If I've forgotten anything important, I welcome any helpful additions and will do my best to reblog those or add them to the original post as needed!

[vintageseawitch]

extremely useful little tool for comparison. please check out r/Defeat_Project_2025 on reddit for more info & resources. share as much as you can.

STOP PROJECT 2025/AGENDA 47. VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!! CHECK YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION STATUS OFTEN, MORE THAN ONCE, BEFORE THE ELECTION.

[poisondionaea-art]

Please

Please! Remember!

That this isn't the end of the world or America like the news and politicians have tried to make it out to be and will continue to make it out to be. It's their job to scare you that's how they get views and votes. It is used so often that it has a name it's called fear mongering and it's used by both sides to make people feel like if they don't vote for one particular candidate their gonna die in hopes that it will help them win.

It keeps people glued to their TV's and computers/ phone constantly look at the news waiting for them to announce the end of the world so that the get more money from ad revenue.

Please don't make life changing decisions based on immediate panic caused by fear mongering. Give yourself time to step back and calm down from your panic before making any decisions.

Please continue to vote in elections that happen between now and the next presidential election, look forward to the fact that since Trump is now going to serve a second term he can't run anymore so he won't be a candidate in the next election. Make sure that local decisions are what you want them to be by continuing to vote in local elections.

988 for suicide and crisis prevention

Once again please don't make any rash decisions and please don't let the politician induced dread get to you. Politicians and TV executives rarely take into account how much their fear mongering affects people.

[sweetsassykitten]

Kuwabara says go vote.

[moonbutters]

Hey so if you vote today you can dm me your "I voted" sticker n ask for a treat or something

For those outside the US you can draw a poor recreation of an "I voted" sticker in some program or on paper and dm that to me for a treat or something too

[nonbinary-strawberry]

don’t forget to vote tomorrow, tumblrinas