Don’t Settle for Less Progress This Election Season

Pop sensation Chappell Roan recently came under fire for telling The Guardian she wouldn’t endorse a candidate in the upcoming presidential election.

In a flood of criticism from left-leaning corners of the internet, many said they felt betrayed by the historically outspoken singer’s refusal to endorse Harris. Roan’s lack of support for either candidate, they argued, dangerously equates the potential negatives of an election win for Vice President Kamala Harris to the risk of a second term for former President Donald Trump.

“This is not me playing for both sides,” Roan said in a Sept. 25 TikTok video responding to the backlash. “This is me questioning both sides.”

In the video, which has amassed over 14 million views, Roan clarified she’ll vote for Harris but won’t commit to standing behind some of what she called the “completely transphobic and completely genocidal views” of the Democratic Party. 

A critical distinction must be made between endorsing and voting. Endorsement implies acceptance, complacency — voting is about activity, catalyzing change with direct action.

“Actions speak louder than words and actions speak louder than an endorsement,” Roan said in a related TikTok video posted Sept. 24.

Civil progress isn’t forged by resignation to proposed policy. Even though the two major parties are unable to satisfy every American’s political views, voters should recognize their power to influence the policies of their elected officials. 

Pervasive polarization has defined the last decade of American politics, according to a 2022 study from the Polarization Research Lab. This has resulted in growing political disillusionment and exhaustion across the country. A quarter of Americans polled by the Pew Research Center don’t feel their interests are even somewhat represented by either party. 

Dealt a tight campaign turnaround, Harris has largely focused on appealing to a large base of undecided voters by taking up more centrist stances to win the general election, according to The Washington Post. 

Backing off previous liberal policy stances on immigration, fracking and the economy, the Harris campaign threatens to alienate progressives in its attempts to scoop voters outside the Democratic Party. Harris’ stance on the war in Gaza is a major factor in progressives’ withholding of endorsement, the Associated Press reported.

Refusal to endorse either candidate doesn’t mean criticism towards both is weighted equally. Many young voters see greater opportunity for change in a Harris presidency — applying pressure to her campaign might be the best bet progressives have to see out their agenda in the executive branch.

In Georgia, 39% of respondents to a YouGov/IMEU Policy Project poll said they’d be more likely to vote for the Harris/Walz ticket if it pledged to withhold weapons being sent to Israel — 35% of respondents in Arizona and 34% of respondents in Pennsylvania said the same. Such urges from wide voter bases in swing states help press democrats to respond accordingly with more progressive policy. 

The pro-Palestinian “uncommitted” movement is a group critical of the government’s response to war in Gaza. But like Roan and others refusing endorsement of Harris, the organization encourages those apathetic to political participation to vote against both Trump and third-parties candidates in the presidential election, according to ABC News. 

By indirectly mobilizing voters for Harris, progressive voices ensure their call for change isn’t sacrificed as they move to elect an administration they aren’t entirely supportive of. 

While casting a ballot can require voting for platforms misaligned with one’s personal views, it also provides opportunities to create significant changes locally.

This election season, voters in 41 states have statewide initiatives and referendums called ballot measures up for vote, according to Ballotpedia. The 160 statewide ballot measures at stake provide citizens the chance to enact targeted change in their region. 

Ballot measures empower both unity and individual activism by transcending party lines, according to the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. This means individuals voting for politicians whom they don’t necessarily agree with can still vote for progressive policies.

These voters look beyond political labels to support their individual ideologies typically constricted by the two-party system, promoting a nuanced understanding of civic responsibility that we should all strive toward.

American poet, essayist and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson — whose beliefs are of central importance in the history of American culture — argued the importance of leading with personal doctrine in his famed essay “Self-Reliance.”

“No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature,” Emerson wrote. “A man is to carry himself in the presence of all opposition, as if everything were titular and ephemeral but he. I am ashamed to think how easily we capitulate to badges and names, to large societies and dead institutions.”

Over 180 years later, a popstar is encouraging voters to use the same self-initiative.

“I encourage people to use your critical thinking skills, use your vote,” Roan said in her interview with The Guardian. “Vote small, vote for what’s going on in your city.”
The lasting significance of individual discretion is echoed in the importance of voting this November. The practice of civic duty doesn’t need to look like an absolute endorsement of a particular candidate — it should be reflected in the individual action fundamental to social and political progress.