Yes, there’s a major election happening right now. And yes, you should vote. (Here’s my voter guide)
But your civic work isn’t done after you fill in the bubbles.
Because if you vote…and then check out for the next 12 months…here’s the problem: The people who stay engaged-- the ones who call in and show up to boring meetings– are the ones who shape what happens between elections. And that’s where policy actually gets decided. Not on Election Day, but in the commission hearings, the legislative sessions, and the community board meetings.
Everyone says that voting is your civic duty. That’s true, but you can’t pat yourself on the back just for voting.
Voting is the warm-up. You have to actually do the workout to burn calories, build muscle, and change how you look and feel.
Just like there’s no one fitness routine that works for everybody, there’s no one format of political engagement that works for every person.
Before the June primary, I put together a civic engagement Bootcamp — a list of small, approachable actions you can try, so you can figure out what feels sustainable for you. Just one step at a time builds your influence.
Here are some examples:
Subscribe to one new local or state news outlet (suggestions here)
Create a Whatsapp group of 5+ neighbors (how-to guide here)
Reshare an article or post via any platform (e.g. Threads, Instagram, Twitter) and tag your council member (my example here).
Here’s your to-do list this (and next) week:
Remind your friends and family to vote and send out your voter guide (template email here).
Vote.
After November 4: Try one more thing.
Just like you need to train for months before being able to run a marathon, you can’t expect that you will have political influence overnight. It takes time to build your community, so that you can eventually host a fundraiser raising $13,200 for an elected official. It takes face time and effort to get on a texting basis with your city council member.
It’s worth the work though. For you personally, because you gain influence to make your neighborhood a better place. And for us collectively, because if we all have 10% bigger political muscles, we gain:
clearer feedback loops with elected officials, praising their brave stances and punishing their poor decisions,
and thus better representation from those elected officials
and in the end, better policies and outcomes
The David Prize recently put together a video series called, “What’s the Big Idea?” about New Yorkers’ big ideas for making the city a better place. My big idea is that every New Yorker doesn’t just vote, but does one more thing in addition to voting. Here’s my video: