Why I Vote

October 2024 Imperfect Union

I realized earlier this week that this newsletter is the last time I’ll write to you before the election. I have strong feelings, but you can get those arguments in many other publications. Instead, I encourage you to check your registration and vote as early as possible. The best thing you can do for your preferred candidate is to vote ASAP. This removes your names from the voter rolls and allows them to focus their efforts on getting out other votes. For this month’s essay, I wanted to share why I vote.

On March 31, 1776, Abigail Adams wrote her most famous letter to her husband, John:

“In the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could.”

The last part is critical. She wasn’t talking about personal or emotional tyranny per se, but rather the legal system that categorized women as property to be controlled by their husbands or fathers. Few women were allowed to own property or conduct financial transactions.

These limitations drove Abigail crazy. John spent years in Philadelphia on congressional business, and then years abroad as a diplomat for the new nation. He left their estate and all financial business in Abigail’s care—and he was wise to do so. She was a savvy investor and expanded their nest egg through creative speculation and property acquisitions.

But sometimes she could not make these purchases herself. Instead, she had to rely on male family members to make transactions on her behalf. Can you imagine the fury and embarrassment of relying on people who were sometimes less intelligent and less financially responsible to conduct your affairs?

In other words, Abigail was arguing that if women had no role as citizens in the new nation, their rights would not be protected. Without the vote, they would be controlled by men and subject to their good will. And we know how well that often turned out.

Abigail was just one of many women who would have loved to vote. So too would generations of people of color, immigrants, servants, and more. They longed for full political participation, argued for it, fought for it, and in some cases, died for it.

I knew my great-grandmother. I was young when she died and I never had the chance to ask her about her first vote in 1920. I didn’t think to ask my grandmother about it until too late. I’ll never really know what that experience was like, but the least I can do is vote consistently, every chance I get.

In the present day, there are millions of people around the world without the right to vote, or desperately fighting to earn it. Our elections aren’t perfect and our federal system leaves a lot to be desired. But our country is also so desirable that people risk life and limb to try and start a life here. I don’t take that for granted.

Well, maybe some days I do.

But last week, I walked into my local voting place, was met with clear and friendly instructions, and cast my vote quickly and safely. No intimidation, no wait. Just the democratic process at work.

For some Americans, it is a much bigger lift. They have to take off work, arrange child care, wait in line for hours, and risk intimidation. My voting is easy. I have no excuse and I offer none.

Finally, a bit of tough love. If you don’t vote, you don’t get to complain. No exceptions. And voting for a dead person doesn’t count.

You are not choosing a spouse. You are not choosing a soul mate. You are choosing between two options. I agree it would be nice to have a multi-candidate system or maybe even different parties. But that’s not the world we live in. So I encourage you to go touch grass, get connected with this lived reality, and make a choice.

Voting is a civic duty. I wish election day was a national holiday, but there is a little I can do about that right now. Instead, I can do my part. If you need assistance figuring out your registration or early voting, I encourage you to visit vote.org. Or you can reply to this email. I’ll help you.