Why I Need You To Vote On Election Day

A Trump win is not just the end of American democracy, it could prove fatal for my family

I wish I didn’t have to write this piece. But I also believe we need to tell our stories, because silence never conquered injustice. My daughter turns 9 on Election Day. If Trump wins, I don’t know if she’ll make it to 10. Let me explain.

The joys of fatherhood.

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican leadership have made clear that with a Trump win, they will fully repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Since the ACA became law nearly 15 years ago, Republicans have tried 100 times—100 times—to repeal it. Fortunately, they have failed every time. And the best ‘solution’ they’ve offered since is “a concept of a plan” as Trump claimed. But with a potential Trump White House, GOP House, and GOP Senate, Republicans plan to tear down the ACA permanently.

Here’s what that means for my daughter and our family. My daughter has an incurable disease that’s fatal if not treated. We rely on the ACA to get her the critical care she needs. The ACA is far from perfect—in my view we need guaranteed universal healthcare as a human right—but the ACA is what we have right now. My wife worked miracles to get us ACA coverage. She then spent weeks on the phone with doctors, providers, and insurance companies to ensure our daughter got the critical life saving care she needs.

Republicans instead want to strip away the ACA provision that bans insurance companies from denying people with pre-existing conditions—people like my daughter. They want to strip provisions that allow Medicare and Medicaid to negotiate life-saving drug prices—medications tens of millions of seniors need to live. They want to deregulate the healthcare industry (except, of course, when it comes to regulating women’s bodies) to maximize profit, knowing full well—but not caring—that it will increase mortality rates. And that’s where my daughter comes in. Without insurance, her medication costs $250,000 a year.

Yes, you read that right—$250,000 per year.

Republicans think it’s fair to force Americans to spend $250,000 a year to ensure their child can live. This is the reality my wife and I would be forced to face if Trump wins and the ACA is repealed. I don’t care what party you belong to—forcing a family into financial ruin to prevent their child from dying is not moral, just, or what freedom means—it is cruel and sociopathic.

So my ask of each of you is this: Vote. Please vote.

Vote for my daughter. Vote for the tens of millions who will be devastated under Trump fascism. Vote for the chance to move forward on economic justice domestically and human rights globally.

I have been as critical as anyone of Biden for funding genocide in Gaza, and I will continue to remain so. I also recognize that Trump’s fascism is a one-way street to devastation for every marginalized community. For every child. For every senior citizen. For every immigrant. For every woman in need of reproductive healthcare. Vote in historic numbers, and vote Trump out. Put an end to his political career. Leave him in the dust bin of history.

And then the real work begins.

Once we win on 11/5, we continue to work like hell to demand an end to genocide in Gaza, demand economic justice at home, demand abortion access for women, demand housing as a human right for all people, demand a living wage for working Americans, demand a humane immigration policy, demand long-term climate justice, and demand human dignity for every person in this country—all things that will be impossible under Trump.

The bottom line is this. We cannot give up hope, and we cannot succumb to hopelessness. My daughter deserves better than that. Your children deserve better than that. Instead, we can build that more perfect union we all deserve—but we must take action. And that starts with voting in historic numbers on 11/5.

Let’s vote. Let’s win. Let justice reign. Are you in?

Note: If you are unsure of where to vote, visit iwillvote.com and find your nearby polling location. Polls are generally open until 7pm local time.

The absolute joys of fatherhoood.

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