The persons elected by the voting public determine, for the most part, the quality of life for voters throughout the nation and the world. Your vote, in many cases, determines who eats or not, who obtains quality education, gets health care, gets clean water and quality food, who will control female reproductive rights, and who lives or not. There were so many close elections where some candidates won or lost by the smallest of margins. The phrase, every vote counts is a reality.

Additionally, the persons in the chair will determine our quality of life, what air we breathe, how our lives are governed, and by whom. During the 2022 mid-term elections, American democracy was among the top concerns demonstrated by voters. Issues related to strengthening the economy, quality jobs, and reducing crime were also significant to voters.

America, the wealthiest country on earth, has a medical coverage gap due to Republican control Legislators sitting in the chair is 12 states. Under the Affordable Care Act, these 12 states have the “option to expand Medicaid eligibility to nonelderly people with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level.” Millions of the uninsured poor are unnecessarily suffering in these 12 States that refuse to expand Medicaid.

The NAMES of these Republican state governments that deny Medicaid eligibility medical coverage to the poor in their states include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Voters nationwide must call these hard-hearted Republican elected officials out for their cruelty. Until they change their policies, Medicaid expansion will remain an essential issue for the poor at both state and federal levels.

Our electoral system certainly has flaws; however, the system has a better chance of succeeding when using the Fannie Lou Hammer approach to voting. Ms. Hammer, the Mother of the Civil Right Struggle, would be proud of the youth voting participation in the recent elections. We must realize that people Melaninated people died for the VOTE.

A large percentage of young people don’t believe that their votes count. However, recent events have demonstrated to them the power of the ballot. Young people now know voting has real life, and death impacts their lives. The seven points below are a short list of why “Who Is In The Chair Matters.”

1. Case in point, 44 House Republicans vote against Services For Pregnant and Postpartum Veterans.
2. Republican control Legislators in 12 states voted against the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, which would have expanded poor Medicaid-eligible nonelderly people.
3. Every single GOP senator voted against the Inflation Reduction Act.
4. Republican senators blocked a cap on out-of-pocket insulin costs for Americans with private insurance, making clear they will choose Big Pharma over the American people.
5. Congressional Republicans voted against the most significant climate legislation in U.S. history. Their votes speak volumes; they don’t care about our children’s future.
6. House Republicans voted against a bill to require vetting for programs exploited by China.
7. The Republican majority in the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. They gutted the federal abortion rights protections previously upheld by the nearly 50-year-old landmark ruling.

If we are to save this democracy and provide the services necessary to improve the lives of all people, we must become “Emotional Intelligent Voters.” We must not allow polling data and other mechanisms to dissuade us from voting in every election. We must also incorporate the strategy of “Full-Ballot Voting.” If you ever think it is too cumbersome to take time out to vote, think about what the honorable Fannie Lou Hammer would have done! In the 1960s, Ms. Hammer fought the Ku Klux Klan and anyone else “Who Is In The Chair” on her way to vote, and so must YOU!