HAPPY ELECTION DAY, Pride family!
Rolling into your inbox with a few last-minute notes for you as we reach the final day of the 2024 general election cycle.
WHERE TO VOTE – Vote Centers and Ballot Drop-Off Locations
In San Diego County, you may go to ANY Drop-Off Location to drop off your mail-in ballot and you may use ANY Vote Center to vote in-person.
Find your closest polling station using this link.
(PS: For a special Pride-flag-themed “I VOTED” sticker, head to The Center!)
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO – Voting While Trans
Poll workers should not question your ability to vote because your appearance does not conform to stereotypes associated with your legal name or gender marker listed on your ID. It is illegal for a poll worker to prevent you from voting. Know your rights at the polls!
Our friends at Advocates for Trans Equality have created a stellar resource to ensure that trans folks are able to cast their ballots, including information about what to bring, what to say if you encounter any issues, and receiving a provisional ballot if necessary: https://transformthevote.org/voting
WHAT TO DO If You Encounter Any Issues At The Polls:
Call the National Election Protection Hotline
VOTE YOUR FULL BALLOT
The ballot is LONG, but it is so important that you vote the whole ballot! From ballot measures to school board candidates, what you vote on may have a direct impact on your lives and the lives of your family, friends, and neighbors. Vote your values, and vote with Pride!
Check out San Diego Pride’s 2024 Voter Guide (EN & ES) for our positions on some statewide ballot measures, and learn more about the races and measures on your ballot on KPBS’s Voter Hub here.
COMMUNITY CARE AND SELF-CARE
This election season has been again marked by significant divisiveness and threats to derail our democratic processes. Our communities – trans folks, queer folks, immigrants, BIPOC folks, women – have yet again been targeted by attack ads and rhetoric that question our humanity and attempt to utilize our existence as a wedge issue to garner fear and win votes. These next few days of potentially delayed election results may cause some anxiety and fear for many of us.
The arc of history is long and bends toward justice… and being on that arc is not always easy. Check in on each other. Hold space for each other. Allow yourself to feel what you need to feel. Be gentle with yourself.
Need some in-person community? Join us and our friends at the San Diego LGBT Community Center for a post-election Community Gathering on Tues, Nov 12 from 6-7:30 pm – RSVP HERE.
WHAT’S NEXT
Whatever results this election brings, we know that our LGBTQIA+ communities will continue to fight for our rights, our dignity, and our liberation. Voting is only one part of our community’s struggle to be free. While we acknowledge that election results often create the conditions in which we continue to resist, the work that San Diego Pride does every day alongside our partners – empowering LGBTQIA+ people locally, nationally, and globally through arts, culture, education, and advocacy – will continue.
No matter what happens, we’ll continue to fight alongside you, and we’ll continue to create safe spaces for queer and trans celebration and joy as we keep moving toward liberation, united in belonging and abundantly queer.
In solidarity,
San Diego Pride
San Diego Pride raises funds primarily through festival ticket and beverage sales, and through sponsorships, and exhibitor fees. These funds support San Diego Pride’s community philanthropy which has distributed more than $2.5 million in advancement of its mission to foster pride, equality, and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities locally, nationally, and globally.
