We are in that period; the final stretch before the midterm elections. For many of us, the exhaustion is real, trust in institutions is thin, and a lot of people are asking themselves whether voting even matters.

To everyone who is sick and tired of being sick and tired, I hear you. But we have to continue to fight for the future we want. 

Why Not Voting Gives Away YOUR Power

After 250 years, this American Experiment hasn’t delivered its promises for everyone. It’s broken in ways that are obvious to anyone paying rent, filling a prescription, or watching their child’s school lose resources year after year. I understand why some people are tired of being told to vote as if that alone fixes anything.

But after decades of social justice work, I can tell you that not voting doesn’t punish the politicians who’ve let us down. It just gives your power away to other people, free of charge.

Your vote is the most important currency you have. It is the one thing every citizen holds equally, regardless of income, zip code, or last name. When we deposit that currency together, collectively, as a community, we get the government we vote for. Not the government created by people who count on you to stay home. Not the government that makes it harder for people to vote so they can continue to make the wealthiest even richer. Not the government hellbent on starting a war in Iran, or covering up the Epstein Files, or deliberately increasing the cost of gas and deploying ICE into our neighborhoods. With our vote, we can elect leaders who will actually look out for their constituents instead of working to get reelected. 

Because every vote from us is a vote for us. 

How OUR VOTES Shape Our Schools, Health Care, Roads, and Rights

The Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act are a direct result of our vote. The Affordable Care Act was a direct result of our vote.

Voting is how we all decide who gets taxed and who doesn’t, and what those dollars build or fail to build. It shows up in whether our roads get fixed, whether our children’s schools are funded, whether our seniors age with dignity, and whether the next generation has a fair shot.

When government runs amok — when oversight and accountability disappear — the results are everywhere: in the price of groceries and gas, in poor food safety decisions, in wars overseas, and in federal police terrorizing neighborhoods. 

Decisions our elected officials make touch us all, in more ways than we even notice at first. 

PDJ holding microphone

 – Derrick Johnson, NAACP President and CEO

Voting Rights Image - Tennessee Rally

THE MIDTERMS: WHY EVERY VOTE MATTERS