At any moment over the past few weeks, it seems like someone somewhere is imploring the American people to vote. From Instagram to Smith administration emails to the plane flying above my Pennsylvania hometown with a banner reminding us to send in our ballots, it’s a message that comes in from all sides: Vote, vote, vote.
It’s a worthy message in its own right — voting, after all, is the cornerstone of democracy, and it is an admirable attempt to reach out to the estimated 44.3% of eligible adults who didn’t vote in the 2016 election. But the generic urge to vote is also curiously non-partisan in a moment when the Trump administration is actively devaluing the integrity of the election, setting the National Guard on protesters of injustice and violating human rights daily, at the border and beyond.
Questions arise for the companies pushing the “neutral” message to vote: Vote for whom, exactly? Vote for what? Not only that, but what do we do after the election? How will we respond if Trump stays in office and voting him out is no longer an option?
It’s also worth noting Biden’s failings as a progressive candidate. Rather than hear the pain and anger of protesters who turn to property damage in their demonstrations against the police, Biden has consistently denounced any justification for what he deems rioting and looting. He doesn’t support the Green New Deal and actively supports fracking, even as climate change continues to worsen. And he has previously promised to veto Medicare for All if it ever comes across his desk. Not exactly a champion of progressive causes.
If Biden is elected but fails to enact the change we so desperately need, will those who voted for him hold him accountable?
To my mind, the relative limitations of both candidates’ platforms prove two things:
First, some will choose not to vote, and that may be justified — especially for Black, Indigenous, and/or working class people who refrain due to the racism, colonialism and economic equality that pervade both Republican and Democratic policies.
And second, even if everyone who can vote does vote (and Biden is elected), that won’t secure all of the most necessary changes I know I want to see in the world. We need to do more than simply vote.
In my opinion, this is a message of empowerment, not despair. In many of my classes, my peers have shared feelings of hopelessness and fear regarding the election. They’ve voted, they’ve talked to their friends and family, they’ve canvassed and phone banked and done all of the voter outreach they can. But that didn’t stop Trump from winning in 2016 and it won’t ensure Biden’s victory now. We can’t control the outcome of elections, and we can’t control the actions of elected officials. But we can organize.
Activist groups have protected their communities outside of the framework of electoral politics throughout United States history. The Black Panthers organized breakfast programs, conducted political education and secured other necessary resources for their community while advocating Black power. Disability justice activists have created their own care networks when Medicaid and disability funding have failed them. There are ongoing movements for prison and police abolition, immigration justice and other important causes, and during the pandemic more mutual aid groups than ever have sprung up to provide necessary resources and services to community members without the help of the state.
These types of visionary activist groups are making real change in their communities while also making nationally and globally impactful political statements about social and economic injustices. They critique both Republicans and Democrats for leaving behind the most marginalized members of society. They have existed through Reagan, Bush and Trump administrations, not to mention Clinton and Obama. Without committing themselves to the confines of electoral politics, they are producing tangible change.
It is based on this long history of political activism that I come to the conclusion that voting must be paired with constant organizing for a better future, during and especially outside of election years.
So while I have already voted for Joe Biden in my home state of Pennsylvania, this will not be the end of my political activism. Since returning to Northeastern PA in March, I have joined Put People First! PA, a statewide organization dedicated to securing basic rights for all, and I have supported the People’s Guild, a local mutual aid group. I certainly would not claim the title of organizer for myself, but I have become part of communities that will continue to fight and care for each other no matter who wins the election. I am assured that if Biden does win, I will be working with people who will hold him as accountable to our values as we have held Trump.
While this resolve doesn’t dispel all of my worries about the upcoming election, it does help me remember that there will always be people fighting for human rights, and that each of us can make change in our own communities. Voting is an important act, now more than ever, but it should be the start, not the end, of our collective political action.
