Get Out The Vote: A Note from Our NoCo Community Manager

Election Day, November 7th is upon us. As we have expanded into northern Colorado, we have confirmed what we already know as LGBTQ+ people - that we have fervent supporters and advocates. Inversely, our community also knows that we have vocal and vitriolic dissenters. Ultimately, where there is love for us, there is also hate. This polar juxtaposition is evidenced by the “protect our children'' church event that occurred at the same time as our TSD School Board Candidate forum. While OBC partnered with other affinity organizations to give candidates opportunities to express their stances on inclusion and ensuring the success of all students, Winsome Ministries took the opportunity to only invite some of the candidates to their event which included a presentation, that used offensive language and concepts in reference to the LGBTQ+ community (available as a video here titled “What’s happening in NoCo Public Schools”). This constant mix of love and hate is why we need to talk about the importance of voting and doing so in our local elections.

In grad school, I attended a week of community organizing training with the Midwest Academy in Chicago. One of the first things we discussed was that being right is not enough to win. This concept can be discouraging, as I so want to believe that being inclusive is the right thing to do and the right thing inevitably wins out in the end. This tempting belief is not sufficient for me though, because it leaves too much to chance and it excuses my responsibility to ensure that the world becomes better. People can feel ambivalent about voting. We may feel like our ballot cast is an insignificant drop in the bucket, or a measure that carries different weight based on where we live, but I heavily encourage you to vote and to think about the many ways in which voting can work towards winning an inclusive future. Voting cannot, by itself, get us across the finish line, BUT voting is harm reduction; voting is holding the line; voting is saying “every little bit” helps, and every bit adds up; voting is practicing dissent against oppression; voting is saying “being right is not enough to win” - voting is recognizing that it is our responsibility to act, and action is what it takes to win.

For more information on how to vote in Colorado, please visit the link listed here.