Unfuck Your Habitat

unfuckyourhabitat:

I don’t make it a habit of getting political here, but if you’re in the U.S. and you aren’t registered to vote, it takes five minutes to fill out the form and mail it in. Not sure if you’re registered? Check here.

I don’t care who you vote for*, but registering and voting if you’re eligible are all part of the “being a productive adult member of society” thing, and if you just haven’t gotten around to it, or aren’t sure how, well, here you go.

Anecdote time! The first presidential election I voted in (Clinton/Dole), I almost turned around and left because I was so freaked out and anxious because I didn’t know where to go once I was in the building, what I had to do, or what would happen. A woman about to go inside knocked on my car window, said, “First time? Follow me,” and I did, and it was easy and fine and I’ve voted in every election since. Don’t let your anxiety keep you from doing important things you’ve never done before.

*Not true, but this isn’t the place

Reblogging this because I think it’s absolutely critical to register if you’re eligible, but also because I wanted to touch on something that I think affects a lot of Team UfYH. Don’t let your anxiety keep you from voting. Registering does no good if you don’t vote. And voting is absolutely critical, especially in an election like this one, where polls of eligible voters show one pretty clear outcome, but polls of people who are actually likely to vote makes it a far closer race.

What do I mean by that? Here’s who’s less likely to vote: students, people who have never voted before, people who have anxiety about voting, people who think the election is all wrapped up, people whose states or districts have suddenly made it more difficult to vote (voter ID laws and such), people without transportation to the polls, people who think it’s too much trouble or lack the motivation to go vote, etc. And if all these people don’t vote, things can change in an instant.

Are you anxious about voting? A little intimidated because you’ve never done it before? Not sure of the process or what to expect when you get to the polls? Don’t let that stop you from voting. My experience is that polling place staff are more than happy to help you out if you say, “This is my first time voting.” Even if you’re 30 (or older). Even if you have social anxiety. They’ll tell you where to go and what to do (but not who to vote for!), and they won’t judge you. They’ll be THRILLED that you’re voting. If you don’t know where your polling place is, find out well in advance. Almost every state has that information online. If you have to, do a dry run where you go to the place and figure out where it is.

There will be signs directing you where to go on Election Day. There will be people to help. There will be me in your head, telling you that this is important and a big step and you can do this. You’ll get a sticker afterwards, which is like a wearable gif saying “I’m awesome.”

There are people who are counting on you not to vote. They’re planning to win by betting on the fact that you won’t vote. Fuck that. Fuck them. You can do this.