Empower Your People, Uplift Our Democracy

Georgia; we are a state of many people. Home to some of the biggest names in hip-hop, entertainment, and, in this writer’s mind, politics. Georgia is a state that has become
synonymous with the political world. From Jimmy Carter’s victory in 1976 to Stacey Abrams’s stinging defeats in 2018 and 2022, the state has been a powerful force in regional and national politics. Through the years, the face of our politics has been changing. From the local to the national level, we are all witnessing this extraordinary shift in our national politics. At the beating heart of this change has been a vast array of hundreds of civic engagement non-profits working at the grassroots level with one goal: get people engaged. That goal looks similar from organization to organization and is often achieved through organizing at the local level.

I have worked in this space for three years now and learned so much about what it really takes to change the face of a state’s politics. In my time working in this space, I’ve come to realize that there is one thing more important to these organizations than anything else: voting. Whether it’s in the name or through their work, each of these organizations is motivated by a never-ending quest to get people registered and out to vote.

One of the things we say in this workspace is that “it doesn’t matter who you vote for; what matters is that you vote.” Unfortunately, when we ask people if they are going to vote or if they are registered, they respond with “My vote doesn’t matter” or “Voting doesn’t work.” Both of these responses are the result of decades of Americans taking for granted their right to vote.

The truth is that Americans don’t vote. We are a nation of 330 million, yet only 154.6 million showed up to elect our last president. To put that into perspective, that’s only 47% of the nation’s population. In short, we don’t know if voting works because we have never tried it. We have never gone out and voted like it mattered to us. We’ve never treated it as a civic duty. Instead, we sit by time and time again and let our won cynicism get the better of us.

So, what will it take? What will it take to get Americans off the couch, cast their ballots, and vote? There is one simple answer: us. It takes those of us who are willing to say to our colleagues, friends, and family, get up, go out, and vote. If you lead a business, tell your employees to get registered and go vote. Ensure that you have a policy in place that allows your employees to take time off to cast their ballots and vote on election day. If you can, support these non-profits with your dollars. Partner with these groups and organizations who are trying to build a culture of civic participation in our democracy. Don’t do this next quarter or next year; do it now. Build that culture of being involved in our democracy so that we can truly make our voices heard. Don’t let yourself or your people be dragged down by the divisiveness of the moment.

Do this not to check a box but to build up our communities. By supporting these organizations, you support the cause of advancing our democracy. As I said before, the core of our work is to get people engaged and out to vote. As you go about uplifting the work of these organizations, remember that our democracy and our country only thrive one vote at a time.