To the good citizens of North Carolina, here’s another reason to vote.

For the past 10 years, the state’s General Assembly, which the Republican party has controlled since 2010, has gerrymandered North Carolina voting district maps along racial lines and passed many laws aimed at making it hard for minorities to vote. Fortunately, some of the measures have not held up in court, and are no longer in force.

Despite the efforts to suppress votes, many North Carolina citizens are determined to exercise their right to vote. Non-profit groups also have been working to educate voters and ensure they have transportation to the polls.

Ms. Sherri White-Williamson, who worked for years in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office for Environmental Justice, now works as the NC Conservation Network’s environmental justice policy director. She notes that her non-profit organization has worked hard to encourage young people, to vote. “The reaction is, ‘Why should I? My vote won’t matter—they [corporations] control everything, and that won’t change.” But remember, when we do not vote, we let a few people in power take away our rights.

As a swing state that voted for Barack Obama in 2008, Mitt Romney in 2012, and Donald Trump in 2016, North Carolina will be pivotal in this election. The U.S. Senate race between Republican incumbent Thom Tillis and his Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham could affect which party controls Congress as well. And while there are many conservative parts of the state, the demographics are changing as metropolitan areas continue to grow, and more Latinx and young people register to vote.

Ms. Elsie Herring, a community organizer for the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network, says, “If we have to continue to fight for the right to vote, so be it. Whatever the issue is in our communities that is keeping us from living the best lives we can for our families and children, we have to organize, stay informed, hold meetings, make trips, write letters, make phone calls—do whatever we have to do to keep the issue on the forefront until we bring about change. We can’t give up.”

That’s exactly right. As an earlier blog stated, your vote counts as One Person, One Vote in all the town, school district, city, county and state elections on the November 3^rd ballot. It is at these local levels where big-impact decisions are made that affect so much of our daily lives. If you have not voted already, make sure you cast your ballot on November 3^rd, and don’t stop at the top: Vote for change all the way to the bottom of the ballot.

Need a ride to vote? Go to Rideshare2Vote to request a free ride.

For information on NC candidates’ positions, check out

by Democracy North Carolina, a nonpartisan organization that uses research, organizing, and advocacy to increase voter participation, reduce the influence of big money in politics and achieve a government that is truly of, by and for the people.

You can track your ballot here:

References:

• Fighting Voter Suppression, Environmental Racism, and Corporate Agriculture in Hog Country,” by Christina Cooke. www.civileats.com