Don't discourage people from voting

Democrats should be pushing a message about the power of voting more than focusing on the threat to democracy. The goal is to win the election, not just the argument.

When I write about the 2026 elections, I inevitably get comments cautioning that they may not happen. A lot of progressives believe Trump plans to cancel elections or undermine the results. He’s made statements that he should have seized ballot boxes after the 2020 election and he still pushes the “Big Lie” that it was stolen, even though evidence shows that he knows it wasn’t. While I have serious concerns about Republicans’ belief in and commitment to democracy, I don’t think that narrative is helpful.

Democrats need to give people a reason to go vote, not a reason to sit out the election cycle. If relatively low-information voters, especially young people, believe that the outcome is predetermined and that their vote won’t count, they are less likely to make the effort. Democrats should be pushing the idea that voting is the best way to improve their lives and to protect democracy.

In North Carolina, Republicans consistently have higher turnout than Democrats. In the 2018 midterm, the GOP had a four percent turnout advantage over Democrats, yet Democrats won a Supreme Court seat and three Court of Appeals seats in the only statewide elections. They also broke the GOP’s veto-proof majority in the legislature.

Four years later, in the 2022 midterm, the GOP turnout advantage grew to more than 7.5 percent; Republicans swept statewide races and regained their veto-proof majority in the state Senate. Unaffiliated voter turnout also dropped by about a percentage point. Turnout of voters 18–25 years old dropped by more than five percent.

Small differences in a state as close as North Carolina can make big differences in outcomes. Democrats should be wary about discouraging voters from coming to the polls. They should focus more on the power of voting than the GOP’s threat to democracy.

I understand that threats to democracy are real. The GOP in North Carolina has consistently tried to undermine democracy in everything from gerrymandering to disqualifying voters after the fact. They’ve seized the Board of Elections and put it under the control of hardcore partisans who would have no qualms about stealing an election. The Supreme Court is ruled by GOP partisans with little interest in fairness or impartiality.

I get it, but the best defense of our democracy is to motivate people to go vote. It’s going to be much harder for the GOP to contest elections where Democrats win by large margins than where they win by narrow ones. Stress the power of the ballot box, not the weakness of the system.

Maybe some people are motivated by threats to our democracy, but more are motivated by threats to their livelihoods. If they believe their vote can bring lower prices, better schools, higher wages, and more affordable college, they are more likely to go to the polls. They may be voting against Republican policies more than for Democrat promises, but some—maybe many—won’t go to the polls if they think their vote won’t matter.

I’m not trying to downplay the threats to our system. I believe we need to have an army of lawyers prepared to push back on shenanigans. We need activist organizations keeping an eye on voting procedures and boards of elections. What I’m saying is the people we need to vote in this election are going to be motivated by the idea that the best way they can change the policies that are failing them is by going to the polls and voting. Don’t dissuade them of that notion.