Like many of you, I feel disillusioned with electoral politics.
As a social worker, I’ve believed strongly in systems change and held macro-level political advocacy in high regard. The last couple of years have forced me to examine some of my convictions, and how much weight they carry in a time when our world is fundamentally changing.
A while back, someone replied to an email I wrote with a call to action:
We’re not going to vote or call our representatives out of this one.
I understand the sentiment. I’m under no illusion that our current system will resolve the existential problems we’re facing. No politician is going to swoop in and fix all the complex problems in our extractive system riddled with bad incentives.
I don’t believe we’re going back to the way things were (for those of us with various layers of privilege). And I’m not interested in preserving a status quo where the freedoms some of us enjoy are built upon ecological destruction and the exploitation of others.
The many converging threats of this moment, including AI, data centers, the climate crisis, inequality, polarization, and autocracy, likely mean that civilization and the systems we know will look very different in the years ahead. For many, of course, they already do.
At the same time, I have concerns about forms of “collapse” discourse that lead people to disengage altogether from the policies that shape our societies.
What we need now is a nuanced view that makes room for multiple tracks at once.
We can acknowledge the profound problems in electoral politics, shaped by powerful interests and incentives, while also recognizing that elections have real material consequences.
Like many on the left, I’m fed up with Democrats. I could give a long list, but one of the most glaring examples for me is that the two parties have not been so different when it comes to sending billions of our tax dollars to fund a nearly three-year genocide in Gaza and expanding occupation in the West Bank. It’s despicable and infuriating.
That also doesn’t mean there are no differences between candidates, parties, or the policies they pursue that impact the rights and day-to-day lives of many others.
While elections and politicians aren’t going to save us, I want the least amount of suffering for my fellow humans and the more-than-human beings.
I want decent, rational adults at the helm. I want to preserve what’s left of our democratic processes and institutional checks. I want those in power to be held accountable. I want us to engage with elections without believing that voting alone will create necessary change.
We Can’t Outsource Change to Politicians
Electing candidates and then sitting back to wait for them to deliver is a recipe for failure.
FD Signifier’s video essay “Why You Can(not) Trust Zohran Mamdani” gets at this in his critique of where the left went wrong with Barack Obama.
To be clear, he’s not arguing against Mamdani and his point is not about Obama or Mamdani. It’s about what happens when someone left-leaning and well-intentioned actually gains governing power in our current system.
The video is eight months old now. It should be noted that Mamdani’s team has since delivered on multiple campaign promises. Although the fact that he is somehow repeatedly praised by the megalomaniac running the U.S. should keep all populists on their toes.
No politician should be treated as a savior, or a stand-in for sustained organizing and accountability.
We Can’t Outsource the Work to Others.
Organizer and abolitionist Mariame Kaba has referred to the “conciergification” of activism: the way the convenience of frictionless apps and on-demand services has seeped into political spaces, creating a consumerist identity when it comes to action.
Instead of doing the longer, messier work of organizing, building relationships, direct action, and advocacy, it’s easier to sign a one-click petition, post on social media, or assume others will do the work of justice and liberation.
None of these are a substitute for what’s needed for structural change.
This brings me back to my initial mention of my disillusionment with electoral politics and extractive capitalism.
We Can Hold More Than One Thing
We can be put off by electoral politics without abandoning democratic processes.
We can recognize that the status quo was never just or liberatory without deciding that everything currently standing should burn.
We can preserve large-scale social safety nets while simultaneously building more localized ones.
Building Power Beyond Election Cycles
Regardless of our trajectory, there are ways to engage in through election cycles that are strength-building no matter what…
- Understanding and upholding democratic processes at scale is essential practice, which prepares us to organize our block or building.
- Campaign work throws people together across class, race, and generation in a way daily life rarely does, offering the opportunity to build power across diverse groups.
- Door-knocking opens up conversations with our neighbors. It’s not my favorite activity, but doing uncomfortable things builds resilience. We may also learn who’s isolated, who’s an ally, and who has resources to share.
- Organizing campaigns or volunteers builds the same muscles we need to organize a rent strike or mutual aid network.
- Whether we’re protecting people at the polls or our neighbors from ICE, we’re creating systems of care to look out for each other.
- Political work can overlap with other community groups and mutual aid networks. This redundancy builds relationships and resilience.
Three Things You Can Do to Help Protect the Polls
If you’re like me, your inbox might be flooded with emails asking you to join phone banks and canvassing actions, along with a million other confusing calls to action.
By all means, knock doors and volunteer for specific campaigns. If you live near a swing state, consider helping a candidate there. You don’t have to be a resident of said state. I’m considering a trip to Michigan to knock on doors for Abdul El-Sayed.
That said, having gone through the overwhelm of my own inbox, I know an exhaustive list of actions can be too much. Here are a few things you can do:
1. Volunteer with DCCC’s Protect the Vote program
Absentee ballots can be rejected for a variety of reasons. The following roles and trainings are virtual:
- Ballot Cure Training — Help voters fix rejected mail-in ballots before deadlines. Next session is tonight: Tuesday, Sept. 22, 7–8pm EDT.
- Pre-Election Ballot Cure Calls Training — Connect with voters whose ballots are at risk of being returned too late.
2. Find a local poll protection network
Learn how people in your community are organizing, and head to a meeting:
3. Attend a No Kings: Vote Early event on October 17
Unlike earlier No Kings protests, this is a coordinated day of action focused on driving early voting. The idea is to help eligible voters check their registration, find their polling place, and make a plan to vote ahead of Election Day lines and last-minute suppression attempts. It’s also a good way to loop into local organizing groups.
Find a Vote Early event near you.
How are you viewing the current climate? How are you planning to protect the polls?
Your thoughts here are inspiring Melissa! Thank you!
I’m glad to hear they were helpful, Tom!