“The right to vote is precious and almost sacred, and one of the most important blessings of our democracy.” – Congressman John Lewis
John Lewis is a Congressman and an icon of the Civil Rights movement in America. He was beaten and jailed in the 1960s fighting to ensure that every citizen had the right to exercise his or her vote. Many others, representing every race, religion, ethnicity and political viewpoint, have paid the highest price in war or service to the nation to protect that right.
We honor their sacrifice and further the American experiment this coming Tuesday by voting.
As Joe announced to the MediaMath team last week, we have joined a nonpartisan consortium of companies giving their employees Time to Vote. This commitment to enabling each of us to participate in our democracy is one of the many reasons we are all proud to work here.
The elections on Tuesday are called “midterm elections” because they occur in the two years between presidential election cycles. They tend not to elicit the same level of interest and engagement as presidential elections. As a result, less than 40 percent of eligible voters turned out for the midterms last time.
But elections have consequences and, on Tuesday, voters will decide who governs many of our states and the makeup of our Congress. The outcome will determine, and communicate to your fellow Americans and to the world, where it is that we stand on a number of key issues.
These are contentious times. We are in many ways a nation divided. Voting, choosing our leaders to represent our interests and ideas and then supporting and participating in the process by which those leaders make decisions is how we peacefully resolve our differences.
Because most of us who work at MediaMath in the United States are relatively prosperous and lucky compared to our fellow humans in other parts of the world, we may take our system for granted. But we shouldn’t. Governing a country as large and diverse as ours is hard. Our leaders cannot do it alone, and they need the legitimacy that comes from having had the people in their states and districts choose them to lead us.
Over the next two years, the people that we send to office on Tuesday will have to deliberate and make decisions on how we want our government to function, the role we want it to play in our personal lives and in the economy. In an increasingly unpredictable world, they may also have to make decisions on war and peace. These are the issues that will most concern you and your families.
As it relates to our company and industry, the coming Congress will deliberate issues that will directly impact our success. They will examine and deliberate how to govern our digital economy, focusing on issues ranging from data privacy to competition. Because we are a global company, we will also follow closely what Congress decides to do on immigration and trade. There are strong candidates running in multiple races on both sides of the aisle. We are not telling you how to vote. We are simply asking that you go out and exercise your right to cast one.