VOTE OR DIE

You might not die. But someone might.

I remember the first time I heard the slogan. It was the name of the get-out-the-vote campaign started by Sean Combs (I think he was known as Diddy then?) My friend April and I exchanged jokes about the statement. "Will you really die?" I think she asked.

Histrionic as it may seem, it was a campaign before the 2004 US presidential election. Presidential elections do have a significant amount of consequences. Commanders-in-chief do set military policy and have emergency powers to dispatch our service members into harm's way. For them, a vote can be life or death. Then there's health care. The executive branch includes Heath and Human Services: the National Institutes of Heath and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention both work at the pleasure of the President. If you get sick or have a genetic disorder, what the president does can have life-or-death implications. Transportation. Interior. Even the Postal Service. All can be positively or negatively affected by the stroke of the pen of the President.

So Vote or Die doesn't seem as dramatic...for presidential elections.

What about these midterm elections? In the United States, we expect lower turnout for midterms because the top spot isn't on the ballot. And, if we're all honest with ourselves, we aren't as invested in the lower seats.

However, we should be.

In Florida, for example, we select a governor two years after the presidential contest. Governors are important decision makers. Before my first election in 2000, I was part of a protest against then-Governor Jeb Bush's One Florida Initiative. The policy (enacted by executive order) eliminated Affirmative Action considerations in state hiring, grants, and college admissions. None of those things were directly life-or-death. I wasn't even directly affected: I was at the protest after my classes at FSU. I got in. And yet the removal of state protections against discrimination felt like a write-off. The Governor in his action saying, "There's nothing wrong here racially. Nothing to see here. We're all good, right."

We weren't and we aren't. If just measuring based on college admission to Florida universities, we are certainly not square. Consider all that has happened racially in Florida since 2000. Is the state better in terms of racial equality since the Initiative?

Your answer to the question should be one of the many reasons you vote.

I wholeheartedly believe that every person who has the right to vote and won't endure violence exercising their franchise should vote. Voting is not just an American phenomenon, but we should be thankful for living in a country that shields us from retribution for choosing the "wrong" candidate. That is a real thing worldwide. I don't believe in compulsory voting, which is also a thing. I believe that it's one of those things you do as a citizen: respect others' rights and defend your own, pay your taxes, use what you need, and vote. We constantly rush to prove how much we love our country. What will we do to keep it going?

I recognize that you can't preach the way without being able to walk it. Also, many of my friends that have heard me on my voting soapbox give me pretty good arguments why they didn't. Here's some of them and my responses:

"I don't know who to vote for."

It's a valid concern that your choice may lead to the selection of someone that doesn't deliver on their promises. Yet the alternative - not selecting anyone - only allows those who do show up to vote to make the choice.

Voter nullification is also a thing, but the current political climate means that you staying home is less of a protest and more of a missed opportunities.

The sources of information I recommend to educate yourself on candidates (and those initiatives and amendments) include vote411.org. The League of Women's Voter's site is the result of gathering surveys and data on each candidate to (attempt to) create an objective collection to make your decisions. While not every candidate completes their surveys I consider that in itself a factor in my decision.

I also recommend taking a look at your local newspaper's editorial board endorsements. I don't recommend following all their recommendations blindly but their rationales can help you make an informed decision. I've read an endorsement and selected against the recommendation before.

Finally, this is why I constantly tell people to stay up on the news. Yes, we get it, there is media bias. That's why I hold the recommendation of one of my professors as a life lesson: get your news from several sources and at least one from overseas. Since I've been watching politics outside of the US since childhood, that's not a problem for me. The internet is extremely powerful now: if you don't have a source, you can find several with a quick search. It's too easy.

"I'm not registered."

I write this on the week of the 2018 Florida midterm primary election. If you're a Floridian reading this and you aren't registered...well, take this one off. But get it together! Get registered before the general midterm in November. Every citizen should make sure their registration is up to date and they know their rights. (Consider, too, that one of the issues in the current Florida political conversation is making it easier to register to vote.)

"I don't have time."

Again, working a flexible schedule makes this a non-issue for me. But this is real: I feel especially for working parents who just got their children into a school routine and are working multiple jobs to make ends meet. And yes, there are laws in other states that require time off to vote...but is there a consequence for that? (I wrote about taking time off a few weeks ago.)

Consider early voting (also over today in Florida) or mail-in/absentee ballots. Voting on your own terms should take the pressure off trying to find the time or deal with the crowds. Rather than trying to find the time, voters can exercise their franchise when convenient.

"One vote doesn't make a difference."

Rather than highlight how close some recent elections have been in the US, I'll say this: go back to the point of responsibility. This is why people buy insurance, buy hurricane supplies, and buy extra batteries. Rather than think of what the actual action yields, consider what could happen if you don't. Considering what our government does in our lives, isn't it worth a just-in-case effort? And, Floridians, just recall what the last hurricane response around here was like and how much governments were a part of it.

So...what are you doing Tuesday? God willing, I'll be voting. Even though your friend Diddy doesn't have the same fervor about voting, I do. Too much for everyone is at stake. Voting is honoring everyone who fought and sacrificed to get and protect the right. Voting your conscience protects what you hold valuable. Voting also empowers those who have no voice in who or what controls them.