I love this thought exercise to reconceptualize what it means to be an active and engaged participant in politics and civic life. I am not eligible to vote in NYC elections (I'm not a US citizen), but I am very engaged with our city's political issues and work to make progress on topics that I care about, like housing and transportation.
I'd like to be able to vote, so that I could have a bit more of an impact, but the non-electoral parts of politics are still very important and where I'm able to focus my efforts. Either way, in a couple of years I'll likely be naturalized as a US citizen or the NYC law allowing immigrants to vote in municipal elections will clear its way through the courts [1].
My favorite quip about voting is from Ta-Nehisi Coates: it’s like taking out the trash. Obviously, you should do it, but it’s far, far from the end of civic participation
I love this thought exercise to reconceptualize what it means to be an active and engaged participant in politics and civic life. I am not eligible to vote in NYC elections (I'm not a US citizen), but I am very engaged with our city's political issues and work to make progress on topics that I care about, like housing and transportation.
I'd like to be able to vote, so that I could have a bit more of an impact, but the non-electoral parts of politics are still very important and where I'm able to focus my efforts. Either way, in a couple of years I'll likely be naturalized as a US citizen or the NYC law allowing immigrants to vote in municipal elections will clear its way through the courts [1].
1: https://www.cityandstateny.com/policy/2023/06/appeals-court-considers-arguments-non-citizen-voting/387875/
My favorite quip about voting is from Ta-Nehisi Coates: it’s like taking out the trash. Obviously, you should do it, but it’s far, far from the end of civic participation