Grads and voters of all ages, take action and vote for a stronger democracy and a better economy.
Congratulations new grads and first-time voters! This is a historic moment for you personally and for our nation celebrating our 250th anniversary. As you step off the podium, diploma in hand, you face an uncertain future venturing into democracy and affordability crises. It is with deep sadness and regret that our generation has left you with such a mess. We marvel at your student activism, including marching in No Kings rallies and protesting at town council meetings and on Beacon Hill for full funding for public schools, which gives us hope that together, we the people can redirect our government to work for the people.
We call on you grads to join arms with your parents, friends, and communities to invest in our collective future. With your young energy, creativity, and vision, we can look through the doom and gloom and create a socially just, environmentally sustainable economy for all Americans, not just the billionaires.
How can we reach that future?
In a rousing speech, New Jersey Sen. Corey Booker exclaimed, “Now is not the time to agonize. It is time to organize. Not time to retreat, but to rise. To activate. To engage. To mobilize. Democracy is not a spectator sport. The moment demands our presence, our courage, and our action.”
Take action before Election Day. Join the growing movement in opposition to the current administration’s attempts to control who votes, with no regard to the Constitution or the law. The League of Women Voters urges all Americans nationwide to recognize and reject an escalating pattern of voter silencing, intimidation, and suppression as the country moves closer to the November midterm elections. The president is trying to get access to voter rolls; talks of federalizing elections; and he hasn’t ruled out ICE or the National Guard stationed at the polls.
Take action. Vote. All Americans must vote. In the 2024 election tens of millions of eligible voters stayed home. In 2026 silence is not an option. Our collective voices are our power. If we mobilize, unite and rise against the white nationalists, the patriarchs, and the billionaires, we can return to a government based on the Constitution, and to the founding principle that all citizens are created equal.
Are you angry and outraged? Then work to replace the president’s allies in Congress with members who will address the will of their constituents. Call or write to your members of Congress. Ask your friends and relatives in other states to take the same actions.
Hope builds as we witness the power of our protests. Congress dropped a bill that would have gutted the Endangered Species Act. A federal judge in Boston ordered the Interior Department to restore exhibits and signs at National Parks, including displays on slavery and climate change. The displays must go back by July 3, and they are barred from pulling down any more. At least 13 mega detention centers are closing or cancelled, including ”Alligator Alcatraz” in the Florida Everglades, which cost $1 million a day to run. With bipartisan support in Congress, the National Science Foundation dropped its plans to dismantle the global ocean observatory system. Long-term carbon dioxide monitoring at the summit of Mauna Loa will continue after intense opposition to shut it down.
Are you unhappy with the way the current administration is spending our tax money; a $1.5 trillion military budget; billions of dollars for the war in Iran and to build more concentration camps and continue mass deportations? Call your legislators and demand that they shoulder their constitutional responsibility to fund programs that will improve the lives of all Americans. When we unite, rise, and make a mighty roar with our actions and votes, we will win.
Nancy Polan, Lou Bouley, and Laura Brooks are working to get out the vote with the Northampton Area League of Women Voters.