|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
With the midterm elections right around the corner, hundreds of local people gathered along the El Camino Real in Mountain View on Saturday to join a national push to get people to vote early.
Rhythmic honks of support from people driving by rang out regularly as demonstrators hoisted signs that read: “Honk if You’ll Vote,” “No Kings. Go Vote,” and “Our Democracy. Our Duty.”
The rally stretched from San Antonio Road to Grant Road and was one of several of its kind happening in the Bay Area on Oct. 17. Though it was tied to the larger “No Kings” movement, which has historically sought to mobilize people angry with the Trump administration and its actions, this event was advertised as a nonpartisan effort to encourage every eligible person to vote.
“It’s our civic duty and responsibility to speak up and stay engaged,” Jenna Watson Gudgel, a participant in Saturday’s rally, told the Voice. “It’s too easy to be complacent and disengaged. It’s too easy to tune it out because things get really overwhelming and emotionally draining.”
The last day to register to vote in the upcoming November election is Monday, Oct. 19. On the ballot, voters will be asked to choose a new California governor. Locally, they will be asked to make decisions in a multitude of Mountain View-specific races, such as those for seats on city council and school boards. Additionally, they will see a variety of ballot measures to be considered.
Peter Bergsman recognized that everyone who came out to the rally did so for their own personal reason, but he believes that all of those reasons converge with the desire for something to change.
“The wealth that this nation produces is not produced by people who are so much smarter or work so much harder,” Bergsman said. “It’s produced by the democracy itself, society, this whole enterprise.”
Los Altos resident Elizabeth Montogomery, who has been showing up to protests and rallies since the global 2017 Women’s March, said that events like the one held this weekend fill her with strength and hope. She feels inspired when she sees so many people take time out of their schedules to come together and “support our democracy.”
“Voting is your voice, your superpower, but you have to protect the vote by coming out and standing up for all of the rights in our Constitution,” Montgomery said.
Fellow demonstrator Barry Feldscher said that he’s always heartened when he sees that rallies he’s participated in have also drawn huge crowds in cities all across the country. It reminds him that he’s “part of something big,” he said.
Some rally participants expressed concerns about possible election interference, pointing to actions taken by the Trump administration. Last Thursday, the administration sued California election officials, requesting that the state be barred from counting votes from people the federal government has identified as possible “non-citizens” until their immigration statuses have been confirmed.
“Vote early and be prepared,” Montgomery said. “If there is any continued interference or shenanigans, we all have to be prepared to unite, stand up and protect our vote.”
Former Mountain View City Council member Sally Lieber, an organizer of Saturday’s Mountain View event, encouraged people to set aside some time to understand their ballots. She noted that in addition to the official voter guide that gets sent out with ballots, there are also helpful guides online that provide more details.
“We just need everybody to participate and vote like your life depends on it, because it does,” Lieber said.
Thanks for this reporting! Note that after 10/19, you can _still_ register and vote in person in any vote center. They start opening 10/24, and all centers are open 10/31:
https://vote.santaclaracounty.gov/vote-person/official-vote-center-list-and-schedule
(There’s a convenient unofficial map here: https://nokings-scc.org/scc-vcs-drop-boxes.html)