Your vote matters—and voting is one of the most powerful ways to get involved in your community. In this episode of From Our CEO, Blair Taylor and Joe Burris discuss why every vote counts, how civic engagement strengthens communities, and how United Way of King County works to amplify community voices through advocacy, public policy, and partnerships. From close local elections to the ongoing fight for voting rights, they explore how showing up at the ballot box can be the first step toward creating lasting change.

From episode #141 of United Way of King County’s podcast, Hourglass:

Transcript

Blair Hamilton Taylor 0:00
Sometimes it feels like you know we can’t make a difference. Sometimes it feels like the problems we’re faced with are just too big and too impossible. We can’t fix them. We can’t do anything. We’re powerless. But the reality of it is, our engagement matters. Whether you’re running for office or you’re voting for somebody who’s running for office, and I view voting as the on-ramp to civic engagement.

Joe Burris 0:24
This is Hourglass, the podcast for United Way of King County in Seattle. Coming up, the second episode in a series about civic engagement leading up to next month’s midterm elections. We sat down with United Way President and CEO Blair Taylor for a conversation on topics including why it’s important for organizations like United Way to have a presence in the public policy and civic engagement arena. We will also discuss our new giving program, United Circle, and an upcoming happy hour and hellos event. I’m your host Joe Burris. Thanks for tuning in. At United Way of King County, we call on lawmakers to craft legislation and approve adequate funding streams that create access to services and resources for all people. We center community voices in creating our investment strategies and in developing our advocacy agendas. We meet with federal, state, and local officials during and outside legislative sessions to convey concerns and tell stories we get firsthand from their constituents. We participate in coalitions and advocacy groups that meet with legislators and lobbyists during election season, when you can choose which lawmakers will best serve your concerns and interests. When many folks speak about voting rights in the U.S. they usually mention the Constitution’s 15th Amendment, which extended voting rights to black men in 1870, and the 19th Amendment, which extended voting rights to women in 1920. Yet indigenous residents didn’t get voting rights until the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act, which granted them U.S. citizenship. Voting rights weren’t extended to all Asian Americans until 1953, and the 1965 Voting Rights Act prohibited the denial to vote based on race, color, or prior servitude. That extended voting rights to Latinos and Black women, who had often been denied due to state laws and discriminatory practices, that means that in a country that just celebrated its 250th anniversary, some of its people have not had full voting rights for at least 100 years. That’s what makes voting so critical. It can create opportunities to address systemic issues that have existed for generations and often were not addressed in the past because some of our ancestors had little or nothing to say about who represents them. Voting can also give voices to those who are ineligible to cast ballots. People under age 18 and immigrants and refugees cannot vote, but issues around immigration and youth are among the most talked about in our country. The voting period for midterm elections began on October 16th and will continue until 8 p.m. on election day, which is November 3rd. Leading up to election day, Hourglass will feature a series of podcast episodes about civic engagement. During last week’s first episode, Hourglass sat down with Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs and Amanda Sandoval, United Way Director of Systems Change and Public Policy, for a conversation about this year’s electoral process. This week, we chat with United Way president and CEO Blair Taylor for a conversation on topics including why it’s important for organizations like United Way of King County to have a presence in the public policy civic engagement arena. We begin with Blair thinking back to the first time he voted.

Blair Hamilton Taylor 4:22
Yeah, back to my first time I voted back in you know I’ll just leave that a blank. I was—I remember— just a quick story: I remember when I was back in high school, and the federal government reinitiated the registration for the draft.

Blair Hamilton Taylor 4:40
Wow!

Blair Hamilton Taylor 4:41
That was the first time that had happened a long time, and I wrote an editorial to the local paper titled “And we all know what follows the draft,” and they printed it. And it was just my way of expressing, really, a deep concern about the prospect of me entering another war after Vietnam. I was, really had some concerns about that. And I can still remember the high fives that I got from my classmates who saw that piece. I mean, their reactions instilled in me a deep sense of pride, and also instilled in me a belief in an ability to impact the system, an actual way to to change things from whatever space you’re in, and you know, my voting after that incident or scenario became really important to me. Voting has always given me a sense of civic pride, and you know I realized something else along the way as well, Joe. I realized that a lot of people died so that I could vote.

Joe Burris 5:50
Right.

Blair Hamilton Taylor 5:50
A lot of people gave up their lives so that so that I could vote you and I and many other people could vote in this country. And I don’t just mean that they fought. Yeah, they fought too. I mean they actually died for me to have that right. And so given that, you know, from my first time voting, which you’re asking about, all the way to today, I’ve tried to take it really seriously. Yeah, I got to be honest. There’ve been some times when I missed the voting opportunity. I had a travel schedule, or I had some life circumstances, but when I’ve missed my vote, it has really bothered me. I mean, it’s really seriously troubled me because I know two things. First, I know my my vote really counts. It matters, particularly in close elections, but it also matters symbolically. You know, when when elections are close. I know my kids were watching me and their mom to see what we did on voting day. Did we go? Did we not go? And that’s triggered in them whether they’re going to go vote one day. Correct. And second, it matters because my vote, as I said, honors the sacrifices of those who came before me, and those people who died, so I could have the privilege. I feel like I need to respect that, and I feel like I have since my very first vote, Joe.

Joe Burris 7:08
Great, great. Well, kind of segueing to your family, what kind of family table conversations do you have about voting, and what do your children say about its importance to them?

Blair Hamilton Taylor 7:24
You know, that’s a great question. We try to tell our kids, and even the next generation when I’ve had chances to speak to them, that it’s critical to vote. It is super importan. Whether our kids have been off away at school, or they’ve been out of state, or whatever it might be, we’ve delivered the message. That’s part of your civic obligation. You know, when I when I was a kid, my mom ran for city council in our town, and I was there on election night when she won the election, first African American woman ever elected to this town council, and there’s a photo that was published in our local paper the next day of my mom and her sons watching the election returns come in. It was absolutely awesome. I still have that photo somewhere. And you know sometimes sometimes it feels like you know we can’t make a difference. Sometimes it feels like the problems we’re faced with are just too big and too impossible. We can’t fix them. We can’t do anything. We’re powerless. But the reality of it is, our engagement matters. Whether you’re running for office or you’re voting for somebody who’s running for office. I view voting as the on-ramp to civic engagement, and by that I mean it helps till the soil of our spirit, of our human spirit that’s related to civic engagement. It’s a tangible—I see voting as it’s a tangible action. It’s something where we can see tangible results. You know, either your candidate wins or they lose. Either you win or lose if you’re running. But it is an on-ramp. It’s an on-ramp for civic engagement, and and civic engagement to me is is like a muscle. It’s like you have to practice it. You know, you have to work itor you gotta lose it.

Joe Burris 9:21
Right. Right.

Blair Hamilton Taylor 9:21
And voting to me is is one of the best ways to engage in that. It’s one of the best ways to engage in flexing that civic muscle. So yeah, that’s what we try to that’s what we try to tell our kids, and that’s what we try to tell anybody who may have some influence.

Joe Burris 9:38
Great. Now, speaking of of civic engagement, particularly along these lines, so we always say in Washington State just how simple, easy, and convenient it is to cast a ballot here. In the states that you’ve lived in, including this one, can you compare what it’s like to cast a ballot?

Blair Hamilton Taylor 10:02
I can try!

Joe Burris 10:03
Okay.

Blair Hamilton Taylor 10:04
I can try. I’ve lived in a bunch of states, you know, and some have mail-in voting. Some you require you’ve been required to go out and vote in a voting booth. And to be honest with you, I prefer going out and voting to mail-in ballots. And and people have asked me why I think that along the way, and I’ll tell you, I think it’s because it forces you to think about it, forces you to plan for it. It, I think, we made voting a little bit too easy.

Joe Burris 10:33
Okay.

Blair Hamilton Taylor 10:34
If that makes sense, you know, voting with a with a mail-in ballot is a little too easy. Okay, it it kind of contradicts the notion, in in many ways. My perspective on that kind of contradicts the notion that mail is simpler and more efficient and more effective. But to be honest with you, I’ve missed more votes in mail and ballot states than I ever did when I was physically going to a voting booth state.

Joe Burris 10:59
Oh wow.

Blair Hamilton Taylor 11:01
And it’s absolutely true. I’ve tried to vote wherever I live, but sometimes you know it’s hard when you’re traveling a lot, whether you’re voting by ballot or voting by mail. But you know, I find that that the mail-in ballots have probably been a bigger challenge for me, and I think there’s a couple of reasons behind thatand a challenge for me to even sort of intellectually describe. I mean, first of all, I think there’s there’s it when you when you go to a voting booth and you and you get the experience of being around other people or voting, who are voting, there’s an energy about that. There’s a there’s an experience about that, and it kind of reminds me. It’s a little bit analogous to you know having a team meeting online versus in-person. You know, there’s a certain energy in that room. You know, human energy and interaction. You’re able to to read things that you couldn’t have already read from signals of other people and the energy of other people that you can’t do online. And I feel like it’s a little bit of the same thing with respect to going out and voting. So I actually prefer,

Joe Burris 12:17
okay,

Blair Hamilton Taylor 12:18
and it’s more valuable to go out and physically go to a voting booth. Now that said, you know, there’s some states where that’s not the case, and you try your best to mail in your ballots. But often people forget, and they leave that thing sitting on the counter. Voting day comes and goes, and they’re like, “Oops!” Right? Whereas if you’re if you if you’re physically going to a space, and your company’s giving you time to go, and everybody else in the office is going to vote. You can’t forget; you just don’t forget, right? So I think that that’s part of what I think has has troubled me a little bit about the mail-in ballots. They they lost a little bit of that experience, Joe.

Joe Burris 12:56
Great, great. And so now, why do you think it’s important, Blair, for organizations like United Way of King County to have a presence in the public policy and civic engagement arena?

Blair Hamilton Taylor 13:11
And so I love the question. Look, my old boss at Starbucks, Howard Schultz, he had an expression that he often said and used, and that was: never be a bystander. Never be a bystander. And I use that expression myself often. And you know, by definition, Joe, bystanders give up their power. They give up their influence. And in my opinion, and this is just my opinion, and it may be somewhat controversial. I think bystanders may forfeit their right to complain because they haven’t used their right to take action. United Way King County is an action-oriented agency. We we we don’t sit on the sidelines. We’re not bystanders. We work on behalf of those who are less fortunate. We provide services, we provide training, we provide tools, we provide help for people to achieve their human potential, and we also give a voice to those whose voices might otherwise be mute. And and to be brutally blunt and clear, part of that process necessarily involves taking stands on behalf of people who might not be able to take a position or might not be organized well enough to do that for yourselves, and that that’s what we do. That’s a that’s a big part of the role of this agency. We try to do it very circumspectly. We try to do it, you know, taking an account of as many perspectives as possible. But that is a role to speak on behalf of those who may otherwise have a muted voice.

Joe Burris 14:47
Correct. And lastly, Blair. Last night we United We had its Happy Hour and Hellos events, which is our occasional events that we have for young professionals in in the area to share our practices with them to talk about what United Way is doing and how young professionals can get involved. Last night’s one was kind of centered around civic engagement, and we had a a billboard up where people could put sticky notes on why do you vote, why don’t you vote. The overwhelming majority of people said, “You know, this is why I vote. A smattering of of those said, “This is why I don’t. And one person said, “Because I don’t think my one vote matters. For someone who is on college campuses with people that are you know around the same age as our young professionals group. If one person were to say to you, “I don’t think my one vote matters,” what do you tell them? Anyone who’s unsure about the importance or effectiveness of casting a ballot, what do you say?

Blair Hamilton Taylor 15:56
What a great, really great question! First, I’d say look at some of these election results. I mean, look at the last couple of presidential elections. How close they were, and every vote counted, every single vote. You get down to local level. Some of these election results at local level, at a local level for mayor, for city council, it can be 100 or 1000 votes different. I mean, every single vote matters. So certainly on a local level, but arguably in the last few years on a national level, and even in presidential elections, your vote matters tremendously. We’re talking very small percentages of difference, right? And look, if you zoom out here, let’s just deal with the reality, okay? For people who feel like this is a rigged game, or “my vote doesn’t matter,” or you know “who cares who’s in office,” it is true. We we can all I I think agree: government cannot solve all of our problems today, and we shouldn’t expect government to solve all our problems. But government certainly has a vital role. It matters who’s in office, and you know what? We seem to have to keep learning this over and over again, right? Can we keep it. We have to keep learning. Like, “oops!” You know, “we put somebody in office and didn’t do what they were supposed to do.” And there are also initiatives on the ballot for re-election, particularly in Washington. Right, initiatives that will impact this state for generations to come-not just our generation, for generations to come. They’ll impact our collective pocketbooks. They’ll impact the future growth and economic viability of our state, so taking a pass and saying I’m not going to participate, being a bystander as we just talked about, this is the wrong time. Okay, this is the time we all need to dig in, understand the issues, flex our muscle—the muscles of empowerment that we have by voting—and understanding that the parking can be very small, and our vote matters. It matters whether you’re young or old. It matters, and I could just say, Joe, in closing, don’t let the moment pass. You know, sometimes you miss your moment. Don’t don’t miss this moment. It’s too important. And so I appreciate so much this conversation and for you bringing these questions because they are the ones that are on people’s minds across the generations. It’s not just young people who are wondering if their vote matters. My generation wondered if your vote matters, but it absolutely does. And every time we get someone in office who doesn’t do what they’re supposed to do, we’re reminded again that our vote mattered.

Joe Burris 18:43
Great, great! Thank you so much, United Way President CEO Blair Taylor. Thank you so much. Was great conversation today about voting and civic engagement. Really appreciate your time.

Blair Hamilton Taylor 18:56
Joe, I appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Joe Burris 19:00
For more information about United Way’s advocacy and public policy work, log on to uwkc.org, click on what we do, and click on advocacy. Join us for happy hour and hellos at the Icon Lounge at Nordstrom in Bellevue Square on December 8 at 6p.m. Happy Hour and Hellos is our networking series that allows professionals to mix and mingle over refreshments, learn more about United Way’s work in the community, and learn ways to get involved. The December 8th event in Bellevue will center on professional development and networking. Photographers will be available to take free headshots, and we will offer professional development activities. For more information, log on to uwkc.org/events.

Joe Burris 19:53
United Circle, our monthly giving program. United Circle is a community of monthly supporters that helps create a stronger King County all year long. Your recurring gift provides reliable support for our work, including expanding access to housing, food, educational opportunity, and financial stability for our neighbors. For more information, log on to uwkc.org/united-circle.

Joe Burris 20:00
At United Way of King County, we are working side by side with communities to build an equitable future for everyone. Hourglass United Way is a podcast that highlights how we and our partners spend time making a difference in our communities. Our work is made possible by generous donations from people like you. Please send all comments and suggestions about our podcast to hourglass@uwkc.org. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn via @unitedwaykc, and to learn more about our work or to support United Way, log on to uwkc.org.

Joe Burris 21:00
I’m your host, Joe Burris. Thanks for listening! Until next time