You Already Know You Have to Vote, Right?

By Steph Perkins

November 5, 2016

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In just a couple days, we will have an opportunity to vote in arguably the most divisive presidential election of our time. Many of you may still be struggling with who you want to vote for or if you want to vote at all. WhenTuesday comes, I am asking you to PLEASE VOTE.

In some ways, more important than the presidential election are the candidates farther down the ballot. Even when much of the legislature stalls on pro-equality bills like the Missouri Nondiscrimination Act (MONA) or when they work to pass anti-LGBT bills like SJR39, state elected officials are working hard to do what they can to make Missouri a better, safer place for LGBT individuals and families.

Equality rarely comes in grand gestures. Instead, equality comes in small, incremental, compassionate steps. In Missouri, we are fortunate to have more steps forward than backward. Electing supportive, open-minded elected officials is one of the most important factors in ensuring those steps add up to valuable, long-term progress for LGBT Missourians.

Even in the last two years, here are a few of the many actions taken by people you elected in Missouri:

2014: Before Missouri had marriage equality, Governor Nixon issued an Executive Order allowing same-sex couples who were legally married in other states to file joint tax returns with their spouses, an issue that states like Kansas fought against.
2015: Following the Supreme Court marriage equality decision, Governor Nixon swiftly issued an Executive Order directing all counties, municipalities, and other entities to fully implement marriage equality in Missouri. This action ensured LGBT families received the benefits they were entitled to under state law with little incident.
2016: The Missouri Housing Development Commission, led by the Missouri State Treasurer Clint Zweifel, updated the Commission’s nondiscrimination requirements to explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The changes help ensure equal treatment for LGBT employees, clients, renters, contractors, and any other entity that does business with the MHDC.
Many state officeholders, including Secretary of State Jason Kander and State Treasurer Clint Zweifel, updated their own office’s nondiscrimination policies to include sexual orientation and gender identity, sending a clear message to their own staff that LGBT inclusion was a priority.

Elected officials can help move progress forward, or they can work to reverse it. We have already seen this in Louisiana, where their Attorney General is suing to remove LGBT protections put in place by their Governor. Your voteon Tuesday adds to the collective voice for your representation in Jefferson City. Some of these races are decided by only dozens of votes.

Find your polling place and see a sample ballot here, check out the list ofPROMO PAC endorsed candidates here, and know your rights when voting in Missouri from the ACLU of MO. When you vote on Tuesday, send us a selfie with your “I Voted” sticker on Facebook!

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