November 3, 2020: If this date does not ring a bell you need to read this.

I know it seems that week after week I am writing about voting or elections.

Without hesitation, I will openly say that our country needs to replace Donald Trump as the President of the United States of America.

While I was shocked when he first became President of the United States, as a citizen of this country, I was determined to keep an open mind and, if nothing else, continue to respect the position that he held as the leader of the free world. At this point, I have to say Donald Trump has proven that he does not have the capacity to lead a country that is comprised of people from all walks of life. Leading the United States requires a commitment to public service and, public service requires one to be open-minded, compassionate, and empathetic, amongst other things. Donald Trump has made it abundantly clear that his tenure as President of the United States was little more than a resume builder in his quest to build his business portfolio.

Yesterday, during a conversation with my daughter, a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill, I began to have that sinking feeling I had four years ago when I had to accept that Donald Trump would become the President of the United States of America.

During our conversation, we began talking about the state of our country. We are dealing with a pandemic of epic proportions that seems to be making people go off the deep end while simultaneously trying to cope with a vitriolic society debating the basic notion that BLACK LIVES MATTER just as much as other lives.

When our conversation shifted to voting and the upcoming elections my daughter told me that she believed Donald Trump would win the presidency again. My heart sank.

I, of course, asked her what would make her believe such a thing. She told me that a lot of her peers do not believe that Joe Biden is equipped to do any better. Anyone that understands the power of the young vote understands the ramifications of such a mindset. Thus the reason for the sinking feeling I felt.

At the end of our conversation I told my daughter about three organizations that provided a wealth of information about voting in our country. I encouraged her to share this information with her friends as well. Knowledge is Power! And, in my mind, there is nothing more powerful than an informed voter.

Here are the three organizations that I told my daughter about. Share, share, share!

Rock the Vote

Founded in 1990, Rock the Vote is all about empowering young people. Not only can you go to this page to register to vote, you can also check to see if you are already registered to vote. But don’t stop there, this page has a wealth of information and tools that can be used to increase voter awareness and knowledge such as:

• locating your polling site
• information about the people running for election in your state
• tools that help you to get involved in the election process
• voter education tools

Fair Fight

Founded by Stacey Abrams, Fair Fight:

• promotes fair elections in Georgia and around the country,
• encourages voter participation in elections, and
• educates voters about elections and their voting rights.

ACLU Voting Rights Project

This is a wonderful tool that provides a wealth of information about:

• litigation surrounding voter suppression
• policies that affect voting rights, and
• valuable statistical data

STILL DON’T KNOW THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NOVEMBER 3, 2020? IT’S ELECTION DAY! GET OUT THERE AND ROCK THE VOTE AND WHEN YOU DO MAKE SURE YOU ARE A KNOWLEDGEABLE VOTER!

Much Love,

Tonza