5 Days to Just Undo It! 10 Steps to Voting with a Purpose on November 6.
As-Salaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu
May the Peace, Mercy and Blessings of Allah (God) Be Upon You
We are FIVE days away from Election Day 2018, insha'Allah (God Willing). We encourage everyone to VOTE AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDS UPON IT. It does!
It is projected that what occurs next Tuesday, November 6. 2018 will have implications for at least a decade - OR - perhaps for the next generation. Either way, there will be ramifications of this election when it is over. Let's all think positively. Trump has stated that "maybe hate is what we need to get things done." At the time, Trump was speaking about what he had hoped would be death sentences for five young New Yorkers who were eventually exonerated of a crime they were at that time to be imprisoned for-- for up to thirteen years. They were all innocent. I am speaking about the Central Park Five. The memory is tragically painful. Trump did not know and had no proof of anything to support his accusations presented full-page in the New York Times, but his hatred for some people and his uncontrollable need for attention influenced a climate of injustice against five innocent youth, all minors in age at the time.
We have witnessed two dark, confusing and exasperating years of this Presidency since Trump entered the office. Trump not only acts without evidence, he acts from a perspective of white privilege. The "nationalist" he claimed himself to be recently, while it has been fairly obvious all along, refers to being a "white nationalist." After protests against white supremacy in Charlottesville that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer, Trump wouldn't denounce the white nationalists who were present, instead stating that there were "good people on both sides." How many times has this same uninformed and unpresidential behavior been observed as Trump has spoken maliciously about other people, typically people of color or women, African-American men, African countries and Latino children separated from their parents or situations that have often been declared simply as outright lies by other politicians (rarely Republican) or reputable media and journalists? The Donald Trump that voiced incitement for hatred in 1989 against the Central Park Five while craving media attention for himself is the same Trump we unfortunately have as POTUS in 2018!
Unfortunately again, Trump is President for the next two years. Even if he were to be impeached before his term expires he would not be removed from office. Only use of the 25th amendment or the outcome of the Mueller investigation or some other obnoxious scandal can accomplish the kind of political correction it would take to upend the political errors of the 2016 election that landed Trump in the White House. A change in the composition of the US Congress now can at least check his unconstitutional assertions and saber rattling rhetoric that continues to divide Americans and may have incited some Americans to engage in deadly violence we, as a nation, experienced recently with an unimaginable act of terrorism upon congregants praying in the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A day earlier, the murder of an African American man and woman by a gunman at a Kroeger's grocery store in Jeffersontown, Kentucky happened when a gunman was unable to enter a nearby Church instead. Hadn't that Church been closed and locked, the gunman who tried there first, might have perpetrated murders similar to those at Mother Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina years earlier. Yrump, as usual was insensitive to these events that many find associated with his disdainful rhetoric, taunting and racist comments.
Trump has always hidden information about himself and his businesses from what was the usual vetting for one to participate in the political process. With a change in Congress, which this election may accomplish, Trump's non-compliance with the emoluments clause and threats against constitutional edicts that allow for the legal migration of people and granting of asylum to those seeking safety in the US as well as confronting other of his actions that are contradictory to principles that promote liberty and justice in this country will be questioned, stalled and hopefully stopped.
It is TIME FOR CHANGE in the trajectory the nation has been on since the election of Trump in 2016. Members of the Republican party have given Trump their pledges of loyalty no matter how outlandish or untruthful his actions are. It is TIME FOR CHANGE in the US Congress such that government can act from standards of acknowledged law and not the whims of an individual who does not know the law. In the history of the US. there has never been a time when all three branches of government have been so twisted and undermined as they are now in this administration. It is time for Trump to gain some respect for the office of the Presidency and for the people of America who are not part of a "base" he appears to cater to on a daily basis. The President of the United States is elected to serve the people of the United States; not those who want to follow leadership that does not respect the US Constitution.
If you are eligible to vote this is not an election to sit out on, not make time to go to the polls, use the weather as an excuse or about or think it won't matter if you vote or not. Do not be deterred for any reason! Take your mind, body, spirit and soul to the polls next Tuesday! Your vote matters as much or more than it has ever in the past! About three-quarters of registered voters who support Democratic candidates (77%) and those who support Republican candidates (73%) say which party controls Congress will factor into their vote. What happens with health care and the economy matters! How leadership leads, Democrats and Republicans, Democratic Socialists, Independent members of this government have provided their oaths upon taking office to be guided by the constitution of the United States and to serve the interests of the people. Voting is one means of getting your voice and concerns heard. Want to sustain the democracy that we have in the US? Vote. Think democracy can't slip away? Think again!
Since the start of voter registration/education efforts in April of this year, the South East Queens Muslim Collective has been actively engaging and educating as many people as possible to understand the importance of your participation in the political process, locally and nationally. We hope and pray that you will actualize the POWER in YOUR VOTE!
Who you vote for is your determination. If you haven't checked out the candidates, you can visit the
WNYC Voters Guide to conduct your discovery.
SEQMC offers this 10-step plan to make your vote happen on Tuesday, November 6th:
1) A visit to the FLIP YOUR BALLOT website for more information about the New York City Charter Revision Commission proposals can be reviewed prior to going to the polls. REMEMBER TO FLIP YOUR BALLOT when voting!
2) You should have already checked your voter registration, but if you haven't or you are not sure of your voting location, please check yourself out at Voter Lookup; please click here.
3) If the return information from Voter Lookup is a blank or states 0 records found when you arrive at your polling place (if you moved since you last registered GO TO YOUR FORMER POLLING LOCATION) and request a PROVISIONAL BALLOT; do not be deterred if you KNOW you are/were registered!!!
4) Show up to your voting poll location on November 6th. Take a friend or your children with you to increase the impact of your civic engagement. Take a snack, we hope the lines are long (means high voter turnout). If you want to avoid long lines, VOTE EARLY! Polls are open from 6AM to 9PM.
5) After voting for the candidates on the face of the voting scan form, please FLIP IT OVER and read (again) the Charter Revision proposals. Vote YES or NO for each of the three proposals;
6) The Election Board clerk will scan your ballot (both sides are read at the same time by the scanner). Scanners are NOT perfect. Check to make sure that what you entered is what is being read by the scanner. If something has changed point it out to the Election Poll Clerk. Before exiting please say Thank you (Poll Workers work a 12 hour day on Election Day)
7) Exit satisfied that you completed your civic duty.
8) Next, encourage someone else to vote!!! CALL them with a reminder; call and tell them you will pick them up to vote; treat someone to an Uber round-trip to get them to the polls; remind someone entering to FLIP their BALLOT!
9) You don't have to wait to do #8; start ratcheting up your voter influence on your friends and family NOW! Ask everyone you know if they are going to vote next week. Encourage them to vote for CHANGE.
10) We don't know what is going to happen after November 6. Start preparing for the 2020 election. The nation we live in now is changed after the last two years of the Trump presidency. Fortify your spirit and your resolve to continue to be active and stay aware of how your activism may be required in the future.
Finally:
