S.E. Williams
Like many of you, I take voting seriously. Sometimes though, I find it humbling to think about why it is that I vote—beyond it being a civic duty—because I know it is the “why” that gets me to the polls at each and every election.
Almost ten years ago, the University of California Berkeley published an article that asked the following questions: “What motivates people to vote? Is it a matter of doing the morally right thing, a reflection of the desire to make a difference, or a quiet statement about standing up and being counted…?”
Interestingly, it turned out that a big reason people said they vote is so that if they are asked whether they voted, they don’t have to be embarrassed or ashamed to acknowledge they did not vote, or have to lie about it. These findings supported earlier research, “Voting to Tell Others”, that showed, somewhere between “25 to 50 percent” of respondents said they voted so they wouldn’t have to lie and say they voted when they really had not.
“Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country, and this world.”
Sharon Salzberg
The first thing I thought when I read this was that the sample size must not have included many Blacks, Browns, Indigenous, other people of color or members of the Jewish or LGBTQ+ communities. I am sure that many–if not most–members of these communities (and others), would say they are driven to the polls by more powerful motives. So, “what’s my why“ for voting?”
Well, as someone who came of age during the Civil Rights era, I would say that I am “compelled? to vote, As the child of parents who survived Jim Crow, the lynching years and the Great Depression, I am compelled to vote. As the grandchild of sharecroppers who took a risk as part of the Great Migration in pursuit of a better life, and for their parents who survived slavery and the disappointments of Reconstruction, and their forebearers who survived the Middle Passage, I am compelled to vote. Beyond that, I am also compelled to vote for my children’s grandchildren and their great grandchildren and beyond.
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I am compelled to vote for youth still struggling with their sexual identities and searching for acceptance–especially those considering suicide. I am compelled to vote for those we lost to AIDS and for those who continue to live with it. I am also compelled to vote for those in the trans community who continue to be murdered at alarming rates.
The 2024 election is destined to be pivotal. This year, more than ever before, it is critical that everyone exercise their franchise as we vote for the future we desire. We are all motivated to the polls for different reasons. What’s your why? We at Black Voice News invite you to share what is motivating you to vote this year?