Our Work Continues Even After November 8
It can not be overstated how important this election is, though continuous advertising might lead us to feel otherwise. Whether it’s electing our first female president at the top of the ballot or protecting the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District down ballot, we hold within our hands the ability to dramatically impact our communities and the country as a whole with one mail-in ballot and a pen.
In the high-stakes environment of this election, it’s easy to fall into the belief that this is it; that this election will itself be the determinant of what happens over the next four years to come — but we know that’s not true.
While the results of the election certainly impact the likelihood of success for various initiatives, our communities will still have a significant amount of work to do no matter what happens.
For instance, Colorado still does not have an automatic voter-registration system, even though we know it would enfranchise thousands of voters and bring adequate representation to marginalized communities all over the state. While Colorado rightfully boasts the highest voter-registration percentage in the country, 13% of adults in the state still aren’t registered to vote.
Not being registered to vote is a problem that uniquely impacts people of color, college students, and the elderly. For all the money we spend on voter registration, it’s alarming to think that more than 10% of adults in our state still aren’t registered to vote. We could breathe new life into our democracy by approving an automatic voter-registration system.
If automatic voter registration doesn’t get you going, perhaps education funding will.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported in 2015 that perilously restrictive limits on state spending enacted by TABOR have made funding the education of our young people more difficult.
In fact, Colorado has fallen to 49th in the nation in K–12 spending and 48th in the nation in college and university funding, both as a percentage of personal income.
That means we spend $2700 less on each K–12 student in Colorado than the national average, and only about $3000 on each college and university student. These funding disparities affect all of us, but their impact tends to be felt most acutely by the most marginalized among us: the poor and impoverished, and communities of color. No matter what the outcome of this election, education funding will still be an issue we need to advocate for in our communities.
These are just two of the issues that will still need to be deliberated over no matter what the outcome of this election is.
The laundry list of policy issues affecting Coloradans is long, and deserves at least as much attention as we give our elections. No, it may not be as exciting to care about fracking bans and other climate-change policies, sensible gun safety legislation, funding for health care, protecting a woman’s right to choose, and expanding resources for LGBTQ+ individuals who have been kicked out of their homes and discriminated against — but it still matters.
November 8th will come and go, and our communities will still be impacted by a litany of issues our political leaders have been unable and unwilling to tackle. Communities like mine need readers like you to stay involved after the election and get your hands dirty in the work of actually running a government. Whether we like it or not, we are the only people who can improve our own communities, and our work continues.
So, what’ll it be?
