Every four years, people who don’t usually think about politics suddenly pay attention to the presidential elections. Spurred by billions in spending, they donate, they canvass, they argue with family members, and frantically refresh results at midnight. Then it’s over and they go back to their lives. Meanwhile, a school board quietly bans books, a county sheriff decides which laws to enforce, a state judge rules on whether your vote counts, and a city council rezones your neighborhood to ban affordable housing without a single protest in the room.
Presidential elections matter, but they are not the whole picture of power.
The decisions that shape your daily life — what your kids learn in school, whether your landlord can evict you, how police behave in your community, whether your vote is easy or hard to cast — are made at every level of government.
That’s a reason to show up everywhere.
Turnout tends to be small — which means your engagement matters more
State and local elections routinely see low turnout. A few hundred engaged voters can decide who runs a school district serving tens of thousands of kids, or a small group of neighbors can flip a city council seat. Your high school stadium can hold the population needed to elect your state legislator. Governors have been chosen by a few thousand votes of difference. Mayors by even less. Yet, no matter who shows up, their ability to shape your lives remains just as strong.
The people who currently dominate low-turnout elections are the ones who figured out that everyone else isn’t paying attention. Like the ones who flood phone lines for a singing contest, they have a strategy for getting what they want. And rarely is their objective to serve your best interests. So, when you start paying attention, it changes the math.
When I served in the state legislature, I saw firsthand how few people it took to force an issue. Yes, there are lobbyists with millions of dollars, but a hundred dedicated activists who rally around a cause can transform outcomes. Maybe not overnight, but certainly over time. Think about what has changed in recent years — from abortion rights to voting rights to criminal justice reform. We who believe in justice stopped believing in our ability to shape the narrative. They didn’t.
So we elect new champions and embolden them with our presence. How? Bring people with you to the polls. Talk to your neighbors about the races on the ballot before election day. Make it normal in your circle to vote in every election, not just the presidential ones. Become the resident expert on who does what and share what you know.
Know what’s on your ballot before you walk in
Few of us would send our money to a cause without doing a bit of research. However, many are willing to cast ballots without knowing who we’re giving power to — or why. To avoid being surprised, do some research ahead of time by finding your sample ballot online or looking up the candidates. Check if local news or advocacy organizations have done voter guides. The League of Women Voters and Common Cause are great resources, and Ballotpedia can provide some guidance as well.
We often look to our political parties as the shorthand for who we vote for, which is one of their reasons for existence. But many of the most consequential local races happen in spring primaries, November off-years, or special elections. Those are the races where everyone may use the same label, but they view their responsibilities differently. Moreover, across the South and Southwest, Republicans are converting races to nonpartisan in order to game the system. If the jobs didn’t matter, the tricks wouldn’t be necessary. Our job is to treat these jobs and elections like they matter, because they do.
Run for something
If the candidate on the ballot fails to effectively represent your community, find someone who will and help them run (or run yourself). Local offices tend to be accessible for regular people. I ran for the state legislature at age 34, without the backing of a political party or a personal warchest. You do not need a political machine or a lot of money to win a school board race or a city council seat. Good lawyers become local judges without millions in financial resources. Instead, what you need are neighbors who trust you and a willingness to do the work. Seek out candidate training programs or reach out to your county party for guidance on next steps.
Every single election counts
Primaries, general elections and run-offs track the stages of elections. Federal, state and local mark the level of government. However, none of us lead one-dimensional lives, so neither can our politics. Because politics is the term of art we use to describe who can borrow our power. Whether it is the power to decide how high your grocery tax might be or if your local utility can charge you exorbitant rates. Zoning for a data center or a homeless shelter both start in the same meetings. Every one of these decisions is made by someone elected directly or appointed by a person elected to office. These elections count because they affect real people, every day. In most of these contests for power, the margin is small enough that your engagement — and everyone you can bring with you — is the difference.
Recently, in Hungary, small bands of voters showed up and evicted their authoritarian leader. Last year, in New York City, young people and working class folks banded together to elect a new mayor. At home and abroad, local voices are changing the future. Elections decide who speaks for us or who ignores us. Step 9 is about deciding which one we get. So let’s elect the leaders we need — everywhere.
Resources
Getting Started:
Vote in every election, including local and off-year elections.
Research candidates or ballot initiatives, and share with your networks.
Building Momentum:
Attend candidate forums and debates.
Phone bank text or canvass for candidates you support.
Register voters.
Join local political organizations.
Leadership Development:
Work with established political organizations and individuals to learn about running for office, campaign management, and voter engagement.
Protect the right to vote for yourself and others.
Read More
Step Eight: Engage
This week, we’re going over Step 8 in our 10 Steps to Freedom and Power. But before we go on, I wanted to take a second to thank every single one of our subscribers here on Substack. We started Assembly Notes nearly a year ago, and since then have grown into a community of tens of thousands of engaged readers. Every week, we go deeper into the complicat…
Step Seven: Deny
Earlier this year, we began a series right here on Substack to go over our 10 Steps to Freedom and Power — what each of them are, what they entail, and what we can do today to slow the march towards autocracy.
Step Six: Disrupt
Staying informed, talking with people we trust, organizing our neighbors — every action matters in the fight against authoritarianism. Yet, the quiet truth is that some circumstances require more of us — more courage, more direct action, and more imagination. When the regime is counting on our silence, we must deny it compliance.
I will be using this to educate others on the importance of why voting matters. Thank you
Ms. Abrams, you are a national treasure. Your 10 Steps make perfect sense, and are doable. I think you’d make a great President or Senator or Governor.