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I’m a field organizer. My job is to identify potential voters, register folks for their first vote— and if I have to — drag voters to their polling place. I’ve spoken to thousands of people about voting and one common theme I find is that many simply don’t feel compelled to vote. Often times, they’re cynical and don’t trust government. Or they don’t believe their vote will make any difference, since their state is reliably red or blue. With a historic election coming up in November, I want you, your friends, your family, and anyone who will listen to understand these three words: YOUR VOTE MATTERS. Whether you like the candidates or not, one of them will win and possess unimaginable power over your country for at least four years.

I’ve made a list of the 4 concrete reasons I most often cite when I’m met with an unenthusiastic (potential) voter. Maybe you’re an informed voter who proudly brandishes your “I Voted” sticker every Election Day. If that’s the case, here’s a list you can send to your cynical friends and family members who don’t take their civic duty as seriously as you do.

1. In many states or races, your involvement could change history.

The Electoral College is an archaic and outdated mode of electing a President; there’s no way around it. However, so long as it remains in existence, winning that majority on election night is crucial. Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania account for a combined 46 electoral votes. Trump’s margin of victory in those three states was only 79,316 votes. For perspective, 0.057 percent of total voters effectively elected Donald Trump, former steak salesman and host of The Celebrity Apprentice, over Hillary Clinton. In Michigan, Trump’s victory was decided by 3 VOTES PER PRECINCT! If Clinton had won these states alone, she could have sealed the presidency with 274 total electoral votes. In a U.S. Senate race, Democrat Al Franken beat Republican Norm Coleman by only 312 votes out of almost 3 million total votes cast. Those 312 Minnesota voters gave Democrats a 60-vote supermajority in the Senate. Only 537 Floridian voters in 2000 and 79,316 Rust Belt voters in 2016 have resulted in the lifetime appointments of four hardline Republican Supreme Court Justices. In short, bugging every single person you know to get out and vote could have a positive lifelong impact on yourself and the generations to come.

2. You have disenfranchised neighbors who count on you to vote.

For far too many, the “right” to vote is taken for granted. 1.6 million adults are legally barred from showing up at their polling place and casting a ballot on Election Day. Since the earliest days of colonial America, the white ruling class has used felony disenfranchisement (amongst other evolving forms of voter suppression) to obstruct or outright deny the political power of the working class; non-whites in particular. It’s a rather simple fact: felony disenfranchisement laws result in black and brown Americans to be disproportionately denied the right to vote. Even with a squeaky clean criminal record, black and brown voters face unique hurdles on their way to the ballot box. Barriers to voter registration, voter ID laws, and and early voting restrictions all have a disproportionate impact on communities of color. More than 30 states states introduced voter suppression legislation after the election of Barack Obama, who delivered record black and brown voter turnout in 2008. The point being: old, white racists have used their political power to subvert the very concept of democracy for all. Each and every one of us has a moral obligation to speak up for those who have been silenced. If you think your vote doesn’t make a difference, think about what you could be allowing to continue in your state. If votes were unimportant, why would state legislatures fight so aggressively to keep them from people?

(To learn more about about disenfranchisement in your state, visit www.sentencingproject.org or www.aclu.org/issues/voting-rights)

3. State and local elections will affect your daily life.

It’s easy to be turned off by (or tune out of) national politics. To many people, they simply don’t see (or don’t care) how a President will directly impact their day-to-day life. The results in state and local elections will result in just as many, and often times more, material changes to your daily life. The federal government moves slowly, whereas state legislatures are much more effective at passing legislation. State legislatures pass legislation on the same issues that are debated at the national level; such as healthcare affordability, the environment, marijuana ordinances, and guns laws— all issues that directly impact our livelihoods. Your state legislature decides whether or not you have access to a safe abortion or if an abusive husband is allowed to own an AR-15. The point being, your state’s legislature is important and those races can have life and death significance. Even in the reddest of states or bluest of cities, local issues are completely unique to the lives of you and your neighbors. The quality of your local schools play a role in everything from the value of your home to the direction of your local economy. The values and priorities of your district attorneys, judges, and county sheriff shape your general public safety and even the types of encounters you’ll have if you’re pulled over driving home from work. Public transit, water supply and cleanliness, waste and sewage disposal, emergency services, public health of your local restaurants, and so much more is all in the hands of your local government. The amount of power you have to change your circumstances by voting in local elections cannot be understated.

4. This is the most consequential election of your lifetime.

There is a chilling, grim reality that must reverberate through your rib cage each and every day until November 3rd: Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 87-years-old. If we don’t win this election, there is a very high likelihood that every Supreme Court case for decades to come will be decided by the hardline convservative judges appointed by George W. Bush and Donald Trump alone. I’ll say that one more time to make sure you grasp the gravity of the stakes: every Supreme Court case for decades to come will be decided by the hardline conservative judges appointed by George W. Bush and Donald Trump alone. If this doesn't make your palms sweat, I’ll explain what that means:

All constitutional disputes regarding your civil rights, civil liberties, and fundamental freedoms will be settled by the consensus of 5 men, appointed by Presidents who won the office despite losing more votes, representing the ideology of an older, shrinking, homogenous political faction.

If you even slightly care about: racial equality, reproductive rights, gerrymandering, dark money in politics, backwards drug laws, gun reform, humane immigration reform, LGBTQ issues, corporate greed, or voter suppression — just to name a few —understand that the future of that issue will be on your ballot on November 3rd, 2020. Our forests are being burned by giant corporations extracting billions of tons of carbon from the ground and pumping it into our oceans and atmosphere. 30 minutes to one hour of your time on Election Day will determine the future of our climate and your country. If you aren’t registered to vote, do that today. If you are, make sure every single person you know is as well. Your future depends on it.