How Do You Help a First Time Voter?
This week in the newsletter, we’ve been talking about the real reasons people, especially younger voters, don’t vote. It reminded me of a story a young activist in Texas told me while I was doing some research earlier this year.
Her name is Jayla Allen, and she went to Prairie View A&M, one of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across the nation. Prairie View is in Waller County, Texas, where the political leadership is predominately white. Students and other Black citizens in the county have experienced extreme voter suppression efforts. Jayla followed in the footsteps of her parents and her grandfather when she went off to Prairie View. Part of what she learned in college was how to be a voting rights activist in a place where Black people have often had to struggle just to exercise their right to vote.
The insight Jayla shared from her experience was that it was often local elections, not the national ones, that influenced younger people to become active. With local races, they could see how they could exert influence over the issues that matter in their daily lives, like local taxes or parking ticket collection policies. She said the lightbulb moment happened when they saw that because they had greater access to mayors and sheriffs than to a president or senator, their votes really meant something. “It's mind-blowing,” she told me. “It shows you the power you have."
Then she told me her story. A mom reached out to her on Facebook, saying that her daughter was a new student at Prairie View and newly eligible to vote. She asked Jayla to help her register and take her to the polls. Jayla did. She walked the young woman through the entire process, making what would have otherwise been a little intimidating easy. She told me it was an honor she would never forget. “That's why I'll always do the work,” she said.
I love this idea so much that I want to adopt it, and I hope you will too. Find a new voter—young or old—and help them register and vote. It would be an honor.
How do we match up people who want to vote and people who want to help? I’m not quite sure yet. Maybe it’s word of mouth. Maybe it’s using #HelpingVoters on social media, which could also be useful if people need a ride or help getting a required form of identification (if you know someone who needs ID, my good friends at VOTERIDERS will help). If you have ideas about how to do this or a better hashtag, please drop a comment. This is a plan in the making and something we can do to help.
Some people have the good fortune to grow up in civically engaged homes. Voting comes automatically for them. For people who haven't been raised in a home like that, or who would benefit from support for any reason, don't be afraid to hold their hands and help them vote.
We’re in this together,
Joyce
This is a great conversation to have. My local library was out of paper voter registration forms, but when I asked they found and set out a stack. I brought some to a younger neighbor and we chatted even though they turned out to be registered already. Brought one to my trainer at the gym and have been checking to make sure he follows through. It’s also made for good conversations because he has questions and no one to discuss with. Today I asked who his dream VP candidate is and he didn’t know any of the choices, but he asked what I thought. Just an example of what this one meek retired woman is up to out here. I love that we’re in this together.
After years of traveling, I came back home to Chicago, found a place to live, and settled down. An older couple in my neighborhood were always chatting and friendly with me. But I suspected that “Mike” was dominating and oppressive to his wife “Ruth”. Ruth was never allowed to drive, she had friends pick her up for work, and their only adult child lived in Florida, where I believe she moved because of her father’s drunken temper. Mike died in spring of 2018. I immediately took Ruth under my wing, taking her to the bank, post office, shops, her Dr appointments, etc., because I never saw friends or family at her home. We became very close. I asked her if she was voting in November. She said that Mike never “allowed her to vote”. I brought her to my home, registered her online, and drove her to vote, but I didn’t tell her who to vote for. “Those bastards aren’t taking away my Medicare and Social Security!” I took a photo of her outside the polling place. I asked her if I could post it on
Facebook, she said yes, even though she didn’t know what it was. Ruth died the next spring. Her daughter came up to sell the house. She hugged me, thanked me, and said, “I’ve never seen my mom as happy as in the photo you took.” Ruth was 71 years old. She finally got to vote.
How do you help a first time voter? You offer to help.