In addition to voting for the next U.S. President this November, we’ll vote on candidates for the U.S. Congress. Some major cities in Virginia will also vote to fill seats in their local governments and school boards.
November 5 may be election day, but there are lots of other significant voting-related dates to know leading up to then. For example, September 20 marks the first day of in-person early voting in Virginia, which you may do at your local registrar’s office.
The people we elect in two months will make decisions that will affect our lives every day for years to come…from affordability of healthcare and prescriptions to funding for victim services, abortion access, school and teacher funding, gun violence prevention, and a host of other important issues that affect our daily lives and work with survivors.
The Action Alliance has compiled this handy Virginia Votes 2024: FAQs and Tips for advocates to offer easy-to-use tips and links on:
- How to register to vote BEFORE election day
- How to register to vote ON election day
- How to vote IN ADVANCE of election day
- How to vote ON election day
It answers such questions as: what kind of ID is needed to register or vote? How to apply for an absentee ballot? How to vote without a permanent address? How to get a ride to the polls…and other common questions.
This election will affect survivors (and advocates) in a host of ways, including:
- Funding for victim services
- Gun violence prevention
- Living wage
- Housing
- Rights of LGBTQ+ adults and children
- Access to reproductive freedom
Speaking of access to reproductive freedom: in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, Virginia remains the only state in the South that has not severely restricted access to abortion.How does this affect survivors?
Restricting survivor decisions to access abortion care would:
- Subject survivors to coercive laws that mimic the violence used by their abusers and force them to carry pregnancies to term – even though it may be a pregnancy resulting from rape, abuse, coercion, or birth control sabotage.
- Suppress survivor freedom, choice, and bodily autonomy by creating environments in which trauma-informed and healing-centered care is inaccessible to survivors.
- Increase rates of maternal mortality and preventable death, particularly for Black, Brown, and Indigenous Virginians who become pregnant.
- Potentially subject survivors to greater criminalization because of their attempts to seek reproductive healthcare. This burden would fall most heavily on survivors who are Black, Brown, and Indigenous.
- Subject survivors, and any Virginian who becomes pregnant, to traumatizing and high-risk birthing events.
There’s a lot at stake for survivors when it comes to this election (and every election). Shouldn’t we/they have a say in our/their futures? As advocates, we can help ensure survivor voices are heard in the electoral process, whether the survivor voices are our own or the people for whom we advocate.
If we want to eliminate violence in the long-term and improve interventions for survivors in the short-term, we must use our voices during elections and help the people with whom we work do the same.
Check out the Virginia Votes 2024: FAQs and Tips and please contact us if you have any questions!
________________
Reminder: October 15 is the last day to register to vote in Virginia!
Kate McCord is the Associate Director for the Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Action Alliance and has worked in the movement for more than 30 years.
Read more news