Your Vote Is Your Voice
Voting is a critical way to ensure that our voices are heard in the political process. By voting, we advocate for issues that affect our society such as healthcare, education, and economic empowerment. By voting we help to elect leaders who are committed to addressing racial and gender inequalities and protect the rights and dignity of all people.
Voting is a way to honor the struggles and sacrifices of those who came before us—men and women like Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr, John Lewis, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ida B. Wells, and countless others who fought for the right to vote and for the civil rights of all Americans. Voting is an opportunity to promote, protect, and preserve our democracy.
As Christians, we should stand up and follow the command to fulfill our civic duties (Matthew 22:21). We are called to exert influence in every sect of society. Jesus himself legitimates the role of government in his command that we should give to Caesar his due and pay taxes (Mark 12:17). Voting and political participation is a way of honoring our commitment to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly before God (Micah 6:8).
Voting is not only a right, but it is a responsibility. It is the one way every citizen can contribute to a free and just society. In the words of the Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, “A vote is a kind of prayer for the world we desire for ourselves and for our children.” A world in which people can worship freely, provide for their families, attend safe schools for learning, make provision for the poor and ensure justice for all of humanity.
By voting, we not only influence the direction of our communities and the nation, but we also demonstrate the strength and importance of our participation in democracy. Every vote counts, and when we lift our voices with our vote, we contribute to a more just and inclusive future for all.
The lifting of your voice does not begin on election day, it begins by calling and speaking to our family and friends about voting. We must lift our voices by dispelling misinformation with facts. We lift our voices by hosting voter education meetings and town hall discussions, and simply asking people are they registered to vote. We lift our voices by assisting the elderly and new voters with processes and policies related to casting their vote.
We can organize and mobilize everyone in our circles of influence by using the early and election day tips below:
Check your voter Registration status.
Complete or update your voter registration information.
Know your early and election day voting location.
Know your early voting dates and hours.
Know and bring the required forms of identification (driver’s license, passport, etc).
Educate yourself on the issues and the candidates on the ballot.
Create a voting plan for transportation, time off work, family commitments, etc.
Make voting a family and affinity group activity.
If voting by mail, submit your absentee ballot in time for your vote to be counted.
Encourage every eligible voter to engage in the democratic process.
Remember Your Vote is Your Voice!
Dr. Toni