Rotimi Adeoye, ACLU Communications Strategiest

There are many offices up for election across the nation this November. Whether it’s for a district attorney in your town or a governor’s race in your state, we want to give you the tools to vote your values and have informed conversations with your friends and families. Elections take place once every few years, and every single one can have lasting effects on our rights, liberties, and democracy.

There should be no doubt that throughout American history, elections can sometimes lead to the rollback of all of our civil rights. That’s why it’s important to vote for your values and fight for your rights this November.

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Shortly after Nixon was elected in 1968, his administration declared a war on drugs, a radical approach focused on harsher enforcement and penalties for drug-related offenses that disproportionately targeted Black communities. The campaign was a racist response to the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Presidents after Nixon have continued its harsh and racist logic, including Presidents Reagan and Clinton. And these harmful federal policies were adopted by lawmakers and prosecutors at the state and local levels.

Drug war policies such as mandatory minimum sentences, especially for minor drug-related offenses, and sentencing disparities for powder vs. crack cocaine, helped make the United States the world’s infamous leader in mass incarceration.

The war on drugs has had profound effects on the criminal legal system, American politics, and the lives of Black communities and other communities of color. Since 1970, our incarcerated population has increased by 500 percent — 2 million people are in jail or prison today. One out of every three Black boys born today can expect to go to prison in his lifetime, as can one of every six Latino boys — compared to one of every 17 white boys.

The war on drugs has also doubled the number of women who are incarcerated, with Black women representing 30 percent of all incarcerated women and Latina women representing 16 percent. As a result, 1.5 million children have incarcerated parents.

Following the election of President Bush and the tragic attacks of 9/11, President Bush launched an all-out attack on human rights and civil liberties. Bush’s actions launched an era defined by excessive claims of executive power that weakened our system of checks and balances and democratic accountability. Most consequentially for human lives and rights, the Bush administration engaged in systemic torture, indefinite detention at Guantánamo and elsewhere, warrantless mass surveillance, biased and unfair watch listing, and discriminatory profiling of Muslim, Brown, and Black communities in the United States.

President Bush’s legacy is one our country — and the people around the world whose lives his administration blighted — still grapples with today.

The moment President Trump was elected set in motion endless attacks on civil rights and liberties. President Trump was one of most lawless presidents in modern history. From his nomination of Supreme Court justices who rolled back the federal right to abortion secured in Roe v. Wade, to the Muslim ban executive order that discriminated against people from Muslim-majority countries, his administration led a dangerous rollback of our rights and liberties, many of which are still being felt today. The ACLU filed 400 legal actions against the Trump administration.

Successful campaigns are created by a blend of political art and science. Magic happens when a candidate connects with voters through passionate ideas about how to make the world a more equitable and just place, or a ballot measure gives people the power to vote directly for policy changes that will make their lives better. But campaign practitioners also use data analytics and experiments to run smarter, more effective campaigns. The science of campaigns allows us to hone our tactics so we can spend time, money, and energy on activities that will be most impactful on the election. Recent studies show that communication between people with pre-existing relationships and among social networks can have a positive effect on voter turnout because of the credibility inherent in personal relationships. In other words, a friend-to-friend conversation about the upcoming election can increase the likelihood that a person will vote, because they know and trust their friend.

This year our midterm strategy asks ACLU supporters like you to vote for your values, and then connect with your friends and family to urge them to fight for their rights by voting, too. A family member, friend, colleague, or acquaintance is a much better and more trusted messenger than a stranger, campaign ad, or social media post. Tests show that a friend-to-friend contact can increase voter turnout by up to 8 percent and have up to two times more impact than a cold call, text, or door knock. So if just 500 of our millions of ACLU supporters remind three friends to vote who otherwise wouldn’t have, that’s 1,500 additional voters this cycle. If 5,000 do so, we’ll be turning out 15,000 more voters. Remember, both Arizona and Georgia were won by less than 15,000 votes in 2020. So this can have a real impact.

And the best part? You can have an impact by doing something you already do every day — talking to the people you know. First, make a list of your people: friends, family, and community groups you are a part of; people you see regularly; and people you work with. Next, identify who on that list aligns with our ACLU values, but may not always vote. Then, let them know there’s an important election coming up and help them make a plan to vote (when, where, and how). Call them if you usually call them, text them if you typically text them, or talk to them when you see them next. We’ll also provide you with a conversation guide in the coming weeks that you can share with them.

Many competitive elections are decided by only a handful of votes or by fractions of a percent. Our rights are on the ballot this year, so we can’t leave any votes on the table by not reminding friends and family to vote. By talking with our existing networks about the upcoming election, ACLU supporters can make the difference in elections across the country to vote for our values and fight for our rights.