WE'VE GOT THE POWER

By: Shelley Bradford Bell, Chair
Democrats Abroad France Paris Chapter

Do you know how powerful "We the People" truly are?

Before you answer, this is not about our political party. It's about us – collectively and individually, who run the government with just one tool – our vote!

We hold the power to decide who will or will not represent the United States of America. Whether you live in the United States or abroad anywhere in the world, your vote is your power.

They spend too much time trying to raise all the money they can get from us. They can buy as many commercials as they want hoping to manipulate us; they can grandstand their pat responses in as many television interviews as they can secure; but we are not impressed with that. That does not win our vote. We want to see action, outcomes, track records, and most of all, time and attention to our voices.

This requirement is inclusive of all political parties. They need to wake up to a new day of empowered voters and realize we will be evaluating them with the same yardstick we use for their opponents. With the power of our vote, we will see that those who work for the people, achieve for the people, speak for the people, and meet with the people are the ones elected by the people.

They are simply public servants, answerable to the voter—not celebrities, influencers, or stars in some political reality show. Public office is not about champagne receptions, polished rhetoric, or basking in attention. It is about meeting with the people in the districts who elected them, hearing their needs and concerns, rolling up their sleeves to find resolution, and doing the job they were elected to do.

They must remain accessible. They must remain accountable. And they must remember that being electable does not make them irreplaceable.

No elected official, regardless of party affiliation, should ever become so comfortable in public office that they forget who placed them there—or who has the power to remove them.

Those who do not care about Americans and only seek the power and influence of the office are easy to spot. The irrational and desperate lengths they go to restrict our vote are proof of our power. They know full well what our votes can do. It is time for us to remember too.

No one—NO ONE—spends this much time redrawing districts, changing election laws, challenging voter registrations, restricting mail-in ballots, closing polling places, reducing voting hours, demanding additional identification, and making the voting process more confusing unless they know our vote will decide an outcome that does not include them.

They already know how powerful we are. The question is: Do we?

No one works this hard to control something that does not matter. If you do not drink milk, you simply walk past it in the store. You do not redesign the grocery store to prevent people who want milk from reaching it. Their irrational and desperate attempts to restrict our vote are proof of just how powerful the voter is. They already know what our votes can do. It is time for us to remember—and use that power. Their efforts to restrict our vote are proof of our power. They know what our votes can do. It is time for us to remember that as well.

Across the United States, efforts to challenge voter registrations, purge voter rolls, tighten identification rules, restrict mail-in voting, and reduce access to polling places are creating more barriers between eligible citizens and the ballot box—and Americans living abroad are not exempt. The SAVE America Act and related proposals could make registering and voting significantly more difficult for overseas citizens, including military families and civilians. Federal law protects our right to vote absentee in federal elections, but that right cannot be taken for granted; it must be understood, defended, and exercised.

They know what will happen when we all vote—they know we will win.

• They know what happens when we organize.
• They know what happens when we bring our families, friends, neighbors, coworkers, church members, community groups, and fellow Americans to the polls.
• They know what happens when young people vote.
• They know what happens when Black voters vote.
• They know what happens when Latino voters vote.
• They know what happens when women vote.
• They know what happens when working people vote.
• They know what happens when elderly voters, first-time voters, naturalized citizens, military families, and Americans living abroad all decide that they will not be excluded from their democracy.

We the People are not fans sitting in the bleachers, waving pom-poms and cheering politicians on as we watch them perform. Our vote is our voice—and when we use it, we are unstoppable.

This is our game. | This is our playing field. | This is our ball. | This is our vote.

They will try to change the rules, block our participation, and play as though we do not exist—but we will refuse them permission to play without us. We will take back the ball, register to vote, cast our ballots, and remove from the field all players who have forgotten whom they serve. Their strategy will fail.

Power will always remain with the people. Game over.

"The primary road to building real power … runs straight through the ballot box." — Michelle Obama