Our resilient democracy and why your vote counts

Nov 1, 2024 by Casey Mattox

The good news about the election being so close to Halloween is that none of us needed to buy costumes – after what feels like an eternity of campaign ads and spam text messages, we all look like zombies.

I’m kidding… sort of.

It is undeniable that America feels a little tense right now, which can certainly lead to a sense of dread and exhaustion.

So what I’m focusing on instead is what a privilege it is to be an American. To participate in the democratic process. To make our voices heard.

I know it may not feel like it in 2024, but American elections are STILL the envy of the world.

Although this election season once again feels particularly contentious, next week Americans will exercise their fundamental right to vote and choose the people to represent them. As American citizens, we have a voice in our own governance that those in many countries today do not have – and the vast majority of those throughout world history did not have.

And while the outcomes next week may not make everyone happy, America’s elections stand as a testament to the strength and resilience of our democratic institutions.

And these institutions are built by and upon our neighbors and fellow Americans, including:

People of all backgrounds and experiences turning out to vote;
Poll workers, election officials, and poll watchers from both sides of the aisle working diligently to keep voters’ experiences as seamless as possible; and
The candidates who put their names forward to serve, especially at the local level – and accept results even when they fall short.

All of this highlights the enduring commitment of the American people to the democratic ideals upon which our nation was founded.

But we can’t take that commitment for granted. I am very appreciative of the election officials and tens of thousands of volunteers all over the country who oversee our election process. In the most direct way possible, this is what self-governance in a constitutional republic looks like – your neighbors, the people you see at your kids’ soccer games, taking the day off work to help people vote and then confirm the results.

I know from experience. I’ve volunteered to work Election Days in the past. I always came away inspired by the opportunity and grateful to be an American.

Yet it is up to government to continue to demonstrate that it is worthy of the confidence that we place in it to manage our elections.

That confidence grows when election officials across the aisle work together proactively to make our elections as fair as possible.

Even in places with unexpected challenges – like North Carolina after Hurricane Helene – Americans are working hard to ensure nothing prevents their fellow citizens from exercising their right to vote. For example, the bipartisan North Carolina State Board of Elections unanimously approved emergency measures to ensure Helene didn’t interfere with the ability of residents of Western North Carolina to vote this year.

As AFP’s President and CEO Emily Seidel recently put it:

America’s system of constitutional self-governance is the envy of the world. It has unleashed the ingenuity of the American people to build and innovate faster than any other country at any point in history. We’ve still got a lot of work ahead to live up to the promise of the Declaration of Independence, and we believe that’s what it means to be an American. So we’re going to roll up our sleeves and get it done, together…

While our politics can feel toxic and divisive at times, we remind ourselves of our Founders’ wisdom in putting the true power in the hands of We the People. That’s why America is so resilient.

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Some final thoughts to close this newsletter out:

If you were expecting this newsletter to be about Halloween, not to worry, I do have some content for you: A few years ago, I wrote about the controversy around Halloween costumes – and how we have the choice not to offend and not to be offended.

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Lastly, if you find yourself in a bad mood after scrolling social media, you’re not alone – and there’s new research around people of faith that shows social media can be misleading us about our fellow Americans.

The nonprofit research organization More in Common recently surveyed more than 6,000 Americans across different faiths, focusing on Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Americans, and found “significant perception gaps” between “what Americans imagine people of faith to believe and what they actually believe.”

More in Common found that three big myths exist about faith in America:

MYTH: “Faith is driven by politics.” FACT: “The overwhelming norm among America’s religious populations is that spiritual life is not a political arena. Americans of faith in general are mostly hesitant to discuss political issues in religious settings… How a person votes is not seen by most as a litmus test for whether or not they are a ‘good’ Christian, Jew, or Muslim. Instead, their moral values, relationship with God, and the spiritual edification they experience as part of a faith community are seen as much more important.”

MYTH: “Faith is becoming irrelevant.” FACT: “The general public underestimates the value Americans, especially younger Americans, still place on personal faith and belonging to faith communities. In fact, our research found that most Americans (73%) see their faith as an important part of who they are.”

MYTH: “Religious people are intolerant.” FACT: “The majority of Americans across religious groups value religious pluralism and want the United States to be a place where people of all religions feel they belong.”

More in Common’s report is called Promising Revelations: Undoing the False Impressions of America’s Faithful, and I plan to dive into it more in an upcoming newsletter. But feel free to check out the report in the meantime!

E pluribus unum.