Tonight, sitting behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, President Biden told us that history is in our hands. In a speech that registered, at least with Democrats, he told us in plain language what matters the most: Donald Trump is a singular threat to our democracy.
That is a fact we live with, as difficult as it is, until this election is over. It’s hard to live under a constant threat. But ignoring it will not make it go away. So, Joe Biden has sacrificed his own hopes and dreams in order to serve all of us, to serve the country, one last time.
Today, on the Skimm’s 9 to 5ish podcast, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, one of the people being vetted to be Vice President, spoke about political violence and watching the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump: “I'm glad that Donald Trump was not hurt worse. I feel terrible that someone was killed and others were injured. And yet, I can't forget that when I've been asking people to bring down the heat for years now, three years now. Every time I'm mentioned by Donald Trump, I get more threats.”
The contrast between Trump and Biden could not be any sharper.
But in case you know someone who needs to see it in writing, here it is. How could we let a man like this back into the White House? It must not happen.
President Biden’s speech isn’t the only thing that has registered lately. Vote.org announced a nearly 700% increase in daily voter registrations in the 48 hours following President Biden’s announcement on Sunday that he would step down. That’s more than 38,500 newly registered voters, and younger voters, those between 18 and 34, make up 83% of them.
Convincing younger voters to register and turn out has been the missing piece of the puzzle. It’s been clear that if Democrats could solve the problem of why they don’t vote and convince them to engage in determining the course of the nation’s future—and local races too—that the Democratic Party would be the likely winner.
People commonly attribute this low turnout to apathy. But as we discussed in “The Week Ahead” on Monday, that’s not primarily the case. In 2020, pollster Nate Silver (I know, but bear with me) looked at reasons young people are less likely to vote and concluded, “Instead, younger people are much more likely than older people to report that they or members of their household have experienced barriers to voting, which suggests that they may genuinely find it more difficult to cast a ballot.” Issues include standing in lines for over an hour, being unable to get off of work, missing voter registration deadlines, not receiving absentee ballots in time to vote, and an inability to find or physically access a polling place. Younger voters also cited day-of-election issues as impediments to voting, problems like arriving at the polls only to be told their name wasn’t on the roll, having to vote a provisional ballot which takes extra time, lacking the correct ID, or being unable to get help filling out a ballot.
The Harris campaign seems to be addressing those issues head on, and in an impressive way. They’re holding a series of phone calls and Zoom meetings, some small and targeted, others enormous—like the call with 44,000 Black women that mobilized a tidal wave of support for the Vice President just as her campaign was getting started.
Victor Shi, who was nice enough to join us for “Five Questions” last April, just before he joined the Youth Team on the Biden campaign, took to Twitter to announce an “ALL YOUTH call” that will happen tomorrow morning, Thursday, July 25.
There is a link anyone who wants to participate can use to sign up: https://joebiden.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5sZdd8wDTrWOpiy4qJWBcw#/registration Share it with all the young people you know.
Something about the announcement that caught my eye was the message of inclusivity! It said, “Join us here. If you are a young person or know a young person in your life, sign up here. We have lots of ways for young people, no matter their age, to get involved with our efforts to turn out young voters.”
In other words, in the big tent of the Democratic Party, there is room for everyone. Whether you’re young yourself or someone who cares about young people and young voters, join the call. There is work for you to do! There is work for all of us to do.
Voting is habit-forming. Social scientists have documented that the more you and the people around you vote, the more likely you are to keep doing it. People can become “habitual voters.” There is no time like this election to encourage people to get started down that path.
We are living in the honeymoon phase of Kamala Harris’ campaign, and things could not be going more smoothly. That may not always be the case; in fact, it’s certain there will be at least some difficult moments ahead. We should collect all of the happy moments, the optimism, and the joy that we are experiencing now, to ward ourselves against them. It’s going to take hard work to protect democracy and to elect a groundbreaking president to lead our nation out of the difficult moment that it is in.
So join the youth call or one of the others. Shannon Watts, the anti-gun activist is organizing a call tomorrow too. Keep your eyes on Twitter and Threads, where many of these opportunities to get involved are being announced. Let’s honor President Biden’s service and elect Kamala Harris. And of course, keep reading here at Civil Discourse.
We’re in this together,
Joyce
/ shirleyserban
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