Woodpeckers don’t tap twenty times on a thousand trees. They peck twenty-thousand times on one tree—focused, resilient, dedicated—until they’re fed.
Last year, a classmate told me he wouldn’t vote in the Midterms because he didn’t care who was president. I felt flabbergasted. There is no presidential election in 2022. Voting is the mechanism through which the smallest of us has the power to steer fate.
After researching, I realized my classmate is not an anomaly. The United States possesses a voting problem—not enough of us do it. Low voter turnout mars our government. Despite perpetual political jargon, many choose silence on Election Day.
Yet, many citizens agree that our country needs change. We often look at the problems around us—from inequity in prisons to environmental degradation—and collectively think “they should do something about that.” We are they.
If I could alter one part of my community—and the country as a whole—I would ensure every person shows up for one another, our futures, and our democracy on Election Day. So we started pecking away against civic apathy.
Back in May, I launched Smart Voter. Since then we’ve learned about voter registration steps, the location of polling places, and races on the ballot. On my podcast, we’ve listened to elected officials and activists. Collectively, we’ve built a stronger civic culture and combatted disinformation.
Through voting we shape our government to represent what we believe. Let’s all vote for our values tomorrow at the polls.
Like woodpeckers, we won’t stop pecking until democracy is in reality—not merely in name—a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Thank you for voting tomorrow!