Voting is your voice—it’s how you shape the future and hold those in power accountable. Yet, too often, people feel like their vote doesn’t matter, or worse, they’re actively discouraged from voting. This is especially true in Alabama, where obstacles like voter roll purges just before elections and no early voting make it harder to participate. But don’t let that stop you! Your vote is powerful, and with efforts like the Alabama Election Protection Network (AEPN), voting can still be easy and safe. AEPN has just launched a 2024 survey to gather Alabamians’ concerns about voting and ensure everyone’s voice is heard.
“The survey is open through November 5. We are very pleased with results to date, however, we want to hear from as many Alabamians as possible. This is a unique opportunity to hear from Alabamians so that we can better direct our efforts to build a fairer, more prosperous state where every Alabamian has the opportunity to thrive. We have been surprised by some responses and look forward to sharing the results following the election cycle,” shares Melissa Gillaland with AEPN on the importance of the network’s survey, “Our community welfare is directly tied to our elected officials at every level of government. Survey results indicate there is a deep level of concern about key issues like inflation, cost of living, and access to well-paying jobs, affordable healthcare, and affordable housing. These are all large-scale issues that deeply impact community welfare. Many Alabamians are without those things, and that deprives them of opportunities to improve their lives. Alabama continues to rank at or near the bottom in terms of education, health care, infant mortality, poverty, criminal justice for low income communities, and more. There is a concern that the legislature is more concerned about limiting access to the polls instead of effectively addressing critical community welfare concerns.”
The survey is a crucial aspect to detailing how voters of different backgrounds experience voting across Alabama. It is one of many tools that the Alabama Election Protection Network uses to empower our communities. The website is an online resource that helps residents register to vote, restore their right to vote, check their status, find their polling station, request an absentee ballot, report problems they encounter while voting, and volunteer to work the polls. AEPN also has two initiatives to empower Alabamians at the voting booth: ‘Our Vote, Our Alabama’ and ‘Your Future is at the Polls’.
“With ‘Our Vote, Our Alabama’ we want people to know that political engagement can be year-round. We only really hear about it on a large scale every 2-4 years because of the midterms and general election, but local elections happen at other times and usually have more of a direct impact on your daily life. Staying connected to your local government takes some extra effort, but they are the people that fill in the potholes, get the stop signs put in at dangerous intersections, and build the parks where your children play,” Melissa explains.
“‘Your Future is at the Polls’ is a new initiative under the ‘Our Vote, Our Alabama’ umbrella to engage the community leading up to the November election and beyond. We want to find out what issues are most important to everyday Alabamians, so that we can better direct our efforts and respond to community welfare concerns. We also intend to build a consistent, reliable network of individuals who want to work the polls on election day. Election protection is a key concern for many voters and we want to help folks become more involved in our electoral process by helping them register, vote, and volunteer to improve the welfare of their community. With ‘Your Future is at the Polls’, we want people to know that there are people listening; there are people that care about your challenges. Volunteering to work the polls or helping local organizations with GOTV efforts, election day transportation, or anything else they’re doing to help people vote is going to make a positive impact in their communities, and we want to do everything we can to make it easier.”
The 2024 election is a pivotal moment. Every election, from 2024 to 2026 and beyond, shapes our future. Now is the time to step up and protect our democracy. Get involved with the Alabama Election Protection Network (AEPN) and be a part of making every vote count, every election. Your action today creates change for tomorrow!