It’s Election Season!
Because of our current political climate, many of us are looking forward to the next presidential election, and are currently analyzing all of the candidates that have come forward.
Even outside of the presidential election, there are many critical elections coming up in our own neighborhoods that affect us as well.
While voting for your favorite candidate is one way you can contribute, there are other ways that you can support your candidate and causes you care about outside of voting.
Here are 5 ways to get politically engaged beyond the vote:
1. Donate
It’s 2020, meaning you don’t have to be a millionaire to make a donation. The Average Bernie Sanders support spent $18 to support his campaign in the 3rd quarter of this year. He has raised $25.3 million through these donations (CommonDreams.org) proving there is power in numbers.
2. Join a voting league or political organization
Passionate about a specific cause? Movement.vote/groups/ provides a list of voting groups across the country. The organizations can enhance the social aspect of getting involved in politics. You may even meet some great people you wouldn’t come across otherwise.
3. Volunteer
Endless opportunities exist to volunteer. Volunteer at your local polling location, canvas on the streets, host a fundraiser, knock on doors for a candidate, and the list goes on. A simple Google search will guide you to the right place to volunteer and look for paid support opportunities.
4. Host a debate watch party
A debate watch party is perfect for gathering both politically-passionate friends and for those who are undecided about their views to discuss candidates’ positions on topics such as Medicare, abortion, and mass incarceration, just to name a few. The added theatrics of the debates nowadays also just makes for great tv.
5. Attend Local Townhalls
Local and national politicians are often bombarded with lobbyists and other corporations talking at them to push their agendas through. But don’t underestimate the integrity of all politicians. When citizens participate and express their points of view, especially on the local level, you may be pleasantly surprised by the outcome.
Don’t knock it, ’til you try it.
As we enter deeper into this upcoming election season, I encourage us all to take our political engagement a step further than voting. We owe it to our ancestors to continue the path they laid out for us. We owe it to ourselves to have a say in the future we will be apart of.
feature photo credit: Mike Stewart (AP Photo)
