The election now underway is “the most important election of our lives,” says the Human Rights Campaign. It’s about more than just the presidential race. The HRC and other LGBTQ organizations say motivating people to actually vote is critical to success.
On this week’s Out in the Bay, a national and a California perspective on the high stakes and the importance of getting out the vote. We hear first from HRC President Alphonso David and later from Joshua Stickney, Deputy Communications Director of Equality California.
“We are fighting for our lives,” says David, an eloquent, passionate speaker. He starts our half hour sharing key advice he received personally from the late US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
While most attention is focused on national races, local and state elections have a crucial impact on our daily lives — especially in California, where voters determine not only office-holders but also public policy through ballot initiatives.
“About one in eight registered California voters identify as LGBTQ, which is astonishing,” says Stickney. “That’s a huge voting bloc in the world’s fifth-largest economy.” But nearly 20 percent of LGBTQ adults are not registered to vote.
Guests and Resources
Alphonso David is president of the Washington, D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ advocacy and political lobbying organization in the world. David, who took the helm last year, is the first civil rights lawyer and the first person of color to serve as president in the HRC’s 40-year history.
Joshua Stickney is deputy communications director for Equality California and Silver State Equality, where he leads the organization’s digital initiatives and manages communications for Equality California‘s legislative and political programs.
Both EQCA and HRC websites have lots of voting information — to register to vote, check your voter registration status, find local polling places, vote by mail, volunteer to help get out the vote in California and crucial swing states and much more.
New Partnership with the Bay Area Reporter!
We’re thrilled to announce a partnership with the Bay Area Reporter, Northern California’s oldest and largest-circulation LGBTQ newspaper and online news service. We’ll have a short article on the BAR’s website each week with a link to our interviews, and once a month, the BAR’s political columnist, Mathew S. Bajko, or another BAR journalist will come on Out in the Bay to give us a round-up of important stories in the queer community. Visit the Bay Area Reporter online or pick up a copy of the print edition at a bookstore, community center or newsstand near you.
