Bruell column: If we don’t shape our future MAGA will; Be a voter

The freedom to vote and have our vote counted is the heart of who we are as Americans. Our nation was founded to give people a say in shaping their future. Our constitution gives us the right to choose who makes the laws that impact our lives. 

Initially, only rich, white, men were granted the right to vote in our country. Since that time, many brave Americans have fought, and even died, to extend that right to all of us, whatever our race, gender, or income level. And our struggle for voting rights continues.

The January 6 attack on our country was an attempt to deprive 81 million Americans of their vote. Donald Trump and his allies conspired to violently overthrow the will of the American people and install Trump in the White House after he lost the election. But he did lose the election, and the people prevailed.

As the Republican-dominated Colorado County Clerk Association (CCCA) has pointed out, election deniers continue to spread lies and distrust in an attempt to “convinc[e] voters their vote doesn’t count.” When people think their vote doesn’t count, they don’t bother to vote. 

MAGA Republicans would love nothing more than for us to sit out this year’s election – that way they can decide our future for us, controlling what healthcare we can access, what books we can read, and who we can love and marry. 

MAGA Republicans have been going to great lengths to try to keep people from voting. In addition to eroding people’s faith in our election systems, they have pushed measures in many states to make it harder for eligible Americans to cast their ballots, including reducing the number of ballot drop boxes, shutting down polling centers, and making it illegal to provide food or water to people waiting in line to vote.

They’ve filled the airwaves with so much bigotry and lies that it can make us want to tune out November’s elections altogether. But if we don’t vote to protect our freedoms, MAGA Republicans are prepared to take those freedoms from us – the freedom to make decisions about our own bodies, to provide our kids with an honest and accurate education, to breathe clean air and drink clean water. 

Coloradans seem to understand the power of voting. In 2020 we had the second highest voter turnout rate in the nation. 

Colorado’s election system is considered the gold standard in terms of making voting accessible to all eligible voters. Here in Garfield County, we have Ballot Drop Boxes available in every town, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through Election Day on November 5. Our county clerk highly recommends that we utilize those designated Drop Boxes.

You can also mail your ballot by affixing one Forever stamp and putting it in the mail by October 28 to ensure it arrives by Election Day. (Postmarks don’t count; mailed ballots must be received by the county clerk’s office by 7:00 PM on Election Day in order to be counted.) Or you can vote in-person before or on Election Day. Details are on the Garfield County website. 

MAGA Republicans would like to take us back to a time when the powerful few had the right to control how the rest of us live. They know their current plans to rob us of our freedoms and give tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy are unpopular, so they try to distract us from their policies by riling up fear and hatred toward already marginalized people in our communities. They hope that if they can make us fearful about immigrants or transgender folks, we won’t think about how their policies will negatively impact our families and neighborhoods.

Most of us see that sleight of hand for what it is. Now we need to turn that knowledge into action and make sure the people we know are voting. Talk with your neighbor, your hairdresser, the folks you visit with at the dog park, bus stop, or coffee shop… 

Eligible voters who don’t vote are significantly more likely to be left-leaning than right-leaning. Take a chance and ask the folks around you if they know about the upcoming county commissioner and state-wide elections. Many anti-Trump voters are unaware of the extent to which MAGA politics has crept into our local communities, from book banning to climate change denial. We need to help people understand that electing Democrats at the local level is crucial to keeping MAGA maneuverings out of Garfield County.

If we want to continue to have a say in our future, and not allow MAGA Republicans to take our freedoms from us, we need to vote the entire ballot this year. Voting is vital to our larger fight for a future where we work together to protect the rights and freedoms of all of us – no matter who we are, where we come from, or who we love.

Debbie Bruell of Carbondale chairs the Garfield County Democrats and is a past member of the Roaring Fork Schools Board of Education.