Peter Hosey

i really, truly, don't want to hear "i refuse to vote dem because they aren't doing anything for trans people" ever again, especially from people who don't know they were quietly advancing trans rights at least as far back as the early 2000s, possibly longer (i was too young and not paying attention before then). and doing it quietly so that the GOP didn't latch on with culture war crap while changes were first starting and even more vulnerable to attack.

the good stuff rarely gets headlines, both because only negative stories get clicks, and because staying low-key until absolutely necessary throws off the GOP. pay attention. be active. and also vote.

the dems will always trail the movement, but that's how politics works. You make it politically embarrassing for the closest party with a critical mass to not do the thing, and then they can justify it to their own people.

Which, as amy says, has been working, if slow and covert.

Elections won't end capitalism but when it comes to civil rights voting really is a matter of "who would you rather be shouting at" and the professed progressives will always be easier to push even if we still have to push and push

the CIA has a longstanding tradition of spreading messaging, in countries it wishes to disrupt, to the effect that voting is pointless

when you hear messaging that voting in the US is pointless you should consider it with that in mind

academics who study authoritarianism have been clear: cling to every shred of democracy, fight for every single bit of process and procedure. yes the system as a whole is bullshit and will not save us, but still, there is a party that openly advocates for killing us all and a party that does not specifically have that as a goal, and sometimes even helps slightly. we should be voting for the latter.

voting by itself will not save us, we may very well all die horribly at the hands of the state, but we still need to vote. we just shouldn't let our activism stop there, we need to do more.

There are elections happening this year. There are elections happening every year.

“Every four years” is a common myth (thanks in no small part to national media mostly only covering Presidential races), but a myth nonetheless. There are House races every two years, plus various other races aligned with either of these cycles.

“Every two years” isn't true either. It is more common than you might think for a special election to occur at nearly any time, and some places have things like municipal elections on off years (SF was an example until 2020).

So don't worry about the cycles, worry about the elections. When there's an election coming up? You should vote in it.

(If voting in person on Election Day is infeasible for you, look into your state's postal voting and early voting options. You may be able to vote from home, which is way easier, or at least find a date more suitable for your schedule.)

You can go beyond that. You can have an effect bigger than your one vote. When you talk about voting, talk about candidates, talk about logistics (early/postal voting, scheduling, rides), and make the upcoming election—every upcoming election—a thing people are aware of (especially with peers in your area, if you can safely do so), you are spreading democracy. You can help replace learned helplessness with hope and empowerment.

And you can go beyond that by joining get-out-the-vote efforts, directly asking registered voters (or registered Democratic voters specifically) to cast their ballot. Some of these will be for a candidate but some GOTV campaigns are just “there's an election, the deadline is X, please vote”. In some places there may be things like carpools, line support, or other assistance you can help provide. (Even if you can't drive people, maybe you can donate gas money.)

And the benefit of all of these is magnified for off-cycle elections because so few people know about them or participate in them. It is not unusual for a few hundred votes (or even literally one vote) to decide these. Anything you do to raise turnout—from voting, if you're eligible, to getting out the vote—will help.

Success is never guaranteed, but you can make it more likely and that is needed, in every election in every place.

And the lower-level races, and the off-cycle elections, and the special elections, are where that need is greatest and the difference you make will be biggest. I still say vote in every election, but these are a great place to start.

If you live in either of those places and are eligible to vote, check your registration now (particularly if you haven't already received anything in your mail) and put Election Day on your calendar. Maybe check into postal voting or early voting if those windows haven't closed already.

And if you don't live in either of those places, you can still help by writing Postcards to Voters in one or the other (though the Lincoln one is kind of close so it might be too late to get in on that one). Here, too, participating off-cycle has a bigger effect than in a regular election precisely because expected voter turnout for an off-cycle election is so low.

(I prefer writing postcards or letters but there may be phone- or text-banking opportunities if those other methods are your jam. As I've written before, different methods reach different people, so whatever you prefer to do will help.)