Opinion

Bryan, On the occasion of the 2018 Women’s March

January 19, 2018

To the 2018 Women’s Marchers

by Julia Bryan – global chair, Democrats Abroad

On behalf of Democrats Abroad I want to thank you for standing with us over this last year.

John Lewis, civil rights hero, and Congressman from Georgia, has this to say about how to stand up for democracy. He says, “Your vote is precious and almost sacred. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democratic society and we must use it.”

You may have found this hard to believe after the 2016 election. You may have felt that your vote was a grain of sand, lost in an ocean of votes.

But listen. Your vote is not a grain of sand to be brushed away. It is a building block that you can use to stand on, to make your voice heard in the years to come. It is a building block, and one you can add strength to by reaching out to other people — your family, your friends, people you know from work, people you meet on the street, people around the world, and helping them to vote too.

YOUR VOTE COUNTS, even from abroad. Thanks to overseas votes, Democrats won the Roy Cooper’s race for Governor of NC in 2016. Our votes won Maggie Hassan’s senate race in New Hampshire. Just last year Democrats flipped 34 special elections that we weren’t supposed to win. Because those building blocks of votes add up. And although they might not always win us elections, they do win us a voice.

Because YOUR VOICE counts too. Thanks to overseas votes last year, legislators are paying attention to what we have to say this year. Around the US, states are reaching out to Democrats Abroad to let us know that they will support us. They have realized the strength of our voting bloc and told us we will not be forgotten. To anyone voting outside the US, I encourage you — build your voting bloc and you will build your voice as well.

I’ll be working this year to help grow the number of Americans who vote — and to make it easier for those who do. I’ll be working with our teams to strengthen Democrats Abroad’s global voice, to help hone the tools we need to effectively reach Congress from outside the US. This is how I will take my stand for democracy.

I’m proud of you all for standing up for democracy last year, and I am looking forward to hearing from you how you will make your stand this year. Thank you for your voice, thank you for believing in it and thank you for using it. And please, don’t forget to back it with your vote. Democracy is counting on you.