Page 75 - Time Magazine-November 05, 2018

THE FIRST STEP Vote to defy those who spread false rumors of
WE CAN ALL TAKE active shooters near polling places, who create fake
Facebook posts claiming you can vote by text, who
distribute flyers listing the wrong date or address
BY NANCY GIBBS
for elections and polling places.
Vote as a nod to a time when people were fine if
JusT because The Leading man commands their son married a Republican and their daughter
center stage, through all the acts of comedy and a Democrat.
tragedy and farce, does not mean he gets to decide Vote because democracy would be healthier if
how the play turns out. Every year, come Novem- races were closer. More than 60% of Americans
ber, the audience becomes the actor. Young and live in counties that in 2016 were decided by more
old, red and blue—the stage is yours. than 20 points. So why should politicians bother
The most fateful question in any election cycle to engage in hard debates or even look for a middle
is not who’s ahead; it’s who shows up. In 2014, ground? Your vote is not wasted if you are a San
the midterm mood was so lukewarm that turn- Francisco Republican or a Wichita Democrat. Even
out was the lowest in 72 years. But it appears that the reddest and bluest states can swerve; just ask
this year just might be different. Let’s hope this is Not-a-Senator Roy Moore, after crimson Alabama
true, but not just because of who could win, con- elected a Democrat, or Charlie Baker, the popular
trol the Hill, approve the next Justice, partner with Republican governor of the socialist republic of
or police the President. Social scientists charting Massachusetts.
the health of America’s democracy see a series of Vote because our civic culture needs some love
threats ranging from distrust in institutions to at- right now. “Most people don’t care about democ-
tacks on the press to interference from abroad to racy issues; they care about particular issues, like
deepening polarization at home. There is no easy guns or health care or climate change,” observes
way to fix this; it’s only easy to know where to Archon Fung, a professor of citizenship and self-
begin. government at Harvard Kennedy School of Gov-
Vote because it is the one absolutely necessary ernment. But that could change as people are
step toward any better place. It reminds public
servants about the public they serve. It dilutes the
power of big donors and narrow interests. It builds
civic muscles we need all through the year to serve Vote because
our neighbors and strengthen our communities.
And it confounds the experts who insist on pre-
dicting outcomes as though the election were a
formality. Voting is an act of faith in the possibility you refuse
that in a true democracy, anything can happen.
and Mitch McConnell have said in defense of their to let voting
Vote if the voices you hear don’t speak for you.
“Elections have consequences,” Barack Obama

power plays. We shape outcomes only if we pro-
vide input. Otherwise, we are wind through a leaf- become the
less branch, moving nothing at all.
Vote because you refuse to let voting become
the privilege of the enraged and engaged. It’s fine privilege of the
not to care about politics; these days, it’s even
healthy. You still get a vote, to remind politicians
that they serve both the people who admire them enraged and
and those who ignore them.
Vote because there are those who may not want
you to, who promote laws making it harder for
poor people or young people or not-white people engaged
to cast a ballot. Nearly 16 million people were
struck from voting rolls from 2014 to 2016, re-
ports the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law
School. From Georgia to North Dakota, activists
are fighting in the courts and in the streets over
who gets to cast a ballot—battles that both inspire
and deter people from showing up at the polls.
60 Time November 5, 2018