Voting
How to place police brutality at the top of your local ballot. In this section, you’ll learn why local voting is important and what to consider before you cast your ballot.
Why Voting Matters
If you are an American citizen, voting at a local level is an important right that gives you the ability to influence the regulations and issues that impact you on a daily basis. Your everyday experience is shaped more by your local officials than the American president. Local officials are in charge of determining local budgets, running public schools, organizing police and fire services, establishing zoning regulations, licensing professions, overseeing emergency medical and housing services, etc.
Unfortunately, local turnout for elections remains incredibly low.
Only 27% of people vote in their local elections
When we don’t engage in voting we are giving up our voice and right to influence the laws that dictate our way of life.
Playing the long game
Informed voting gives us a way to choose our local leaders, hold them accountable, and remove certain elected officials if they chose not to perform their responsibilities or become corrupt. It’s an important proactive tool for addressing police violence.
“We can’t end police brutality if we don't change the laws. We can't change the laws without electing the right people into office. Without the right people in office we continue to be reactive instead of proactive. Focus on all elections, not just the one going to White House."
Source: Breathing Room
Protests, petitions, op-eds, public comments, and town halls only go so far without effective long-term policies that protect our communities. To secure long-term wins, we need to vote for people that care about eliminating brutality and corruption in law enforcement. That means we need to vote for district attorneys, governors, senators, representatives, etc. in addition to the American president.
If you are still questioning the value of local voting think about the impact of the Georgia senate runoffs. The outcome of this local election determined which political party would control the senate (and in some ways the country) during Biden’s term.
What’s the time commitment?
The time commitment can range vastly. Voting requires learning about candidates, heading to a polling center (or requesting a mail-in ballot), and waiting in line at the polls. Unfortunately illegal actions like voter suppression can take this from a quick time commitment to a time intensive activity. In other ways, voting isn't a huge time investment because it happens in two and four year cycles.
If voting is a tool you are already familiar with, use your knowledge to bring others into the fold. Ensure people in your community (friends, family, neighbors, etc.) are also registered to vote when election season cycles through.
