I do…and that was some decades ago! The memory of standing in line in my small hometown in Georgia — a much shorter line than the ones I stand in today in Atlanta — and being handed a paper ballot with boxes next to a long list of names is one that I will never forget.
The choices for president were Republican Senator Barry Goldwater or the incumbent President Lyndon B Johnson, who was on the ballot for the first time after assuming the presidency after President Kennedy was assassinated the year before. As president, Johnson had signed into law the civil rights legislation that guaranteed the protection of all rights and freedoms of the Constitution to African American citizens, and that, alone, would have been enough to get my vote — and apparently, enough to gain him the largest landslide in US history.
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 while Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others look on. (Wikicommons)
Voting for him as a first-time voter felt consequential. I walked away that day feeling validated that I had voted for the candidate that shared my values. I’ve tried to apply that same criteria in every election since, up and down the ballot, asking myself whom I believe will ensure that our democracy stays strong and that all citizens have the rights and freedoms promised under the Constitution.
This year, essential rights and fundamental principles of our democracy are on the ballot, from the right for people to control what happens to their own bodies, to the right for all registered voters to vote, to the peaceful transition of power based on the outcome.
Abortion related measures are on the ballot in 10 states, and in New York, Proposition 1, which would add equal protection for women in its state constitution, is on the ballot. Yes, as unbelievable as that might sound, we are still voting on whether women should have equal rights and on the protection of those rights! Congress passed the federal Equal Rights Amendment in 1972, and as of January 27, 2020, it has met all requirements to be added to the Constitution. But we are still trying to get it officially published in the US Constitution!
Regardless of whether these measures are on your state ballot, knowing where each candidate stands on these important issues is critical preparation as a voter. See which candidates are “ERA Certified” at the Elect Equality website.
This year, I am doing that preparation with two very special first-time voters — my twin granddaughters (pictured here on their 16th birthday). They turn 18 on the first day of early voting in Georgia later this month. We are going together and that, in itself, will make this election consequential for our family. But here in Georgia, a swing state, it may also be consequential for the victory of the candidates who promise to protect our democratic government and to restore our rights and freedoms, rather than the dangerous push back policies and concerning rambling speeches of Donald Trump.
In Georgia, the legislature's ban on abortions after six weeks has already led to the deaths of at least two women, Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller. Last week, a judge overturned that ban, reverting it to 20 weeks, but just yesterday, the state Supreme Court paused that order and reinstituted the six-week ban, putting women in danger once again in my state.
Across the country, 41 states now have abortion bans in effect with only limited exceptions. Thirteen states have a total abortion ban.
Access to abortion in the U.S. depends on where you live. Increasingly, much of the South has become a legal-abortion desert. (The Fuller Project)
Another life and death issue that too many voters continue to either ignore or assume there just isn’t much we personally can do about, is the climate and nature crisis.
But there is! Voting is perhaps the most important way for us to become part of the solution! We can vote for leaders who will do something, who will make the courageous policy changes necessary to move us off of reliance on the fossil fuel industry that is quite literally killing us and destroying any possibility of a habitable planet within our children’s, and certainly my grandchildren's, lifetimes, if we don't replace poisonous, carbon pollution with clean energy alternatives quickly.
We have the technology. We can scale it and make it affordable and accessible in time, but only if we start the transition now and support a just transition in countries that can’t afford to move as quickly. We need leaders committed to making courageous choices, demanding that oil and gas companies pay up for losses of lives and livelihoods, and ending the outrageous subsidies for the extractive industries that are destroying our oceans, our air and essential biodiverse ecosystems that support life.
The important connection between voting and the preservation of nature is made very persuasively by one of the world’s most beloved and respected nature advocates, Jane Goodall, who at 90(!) launched a "Vote for Nature" campaign with this video:
Please share this video, as well as the social media videos from Global Citizen and Subway Takes. (Yes, Jane Goodall took the NYC subway to promote voting for nature.)
One more important thought about voting — a personal word to American women.
We have earned admiration from our global sisters for the leadership and solidarity we have shown in the past on social justice issues, and on November 5th, I want to urge you — before just casting the expected partisan vote or following someone else’s choice — to remember this…
You can choose whatever candidates you believe are best for your family and your country. This is our opportunity to show up for ourselves and other women, and perhaps, more importantly, for our daughters and granddaughters; to vote for the leaders who will do what is necessary to secure a liveable future on Mother Earth and who will protect and defend their individual rights and freedoms.
I want to be able to say to my children, my grandchildren, and my global sisters, “I voted for that future.” I hope you will, too.
Onward!
- Pat
