Athens-Clarke Democrats rally to get out the vote

Election Day is quickly approaching, with just 5 days remaining. Lexy Doherty, the Democratic candidate seeking to represent Georgia’s 10th District in the House of Representatives and many other local government candidates are making their final appeals to voters in their local districts. 

Ethan Henderson, the campus organizer for the Democratic Party of Georgia, hosted a Get Out The Vote (GOTV) rally. The event featured U.S Senator Jon Ossof and Lexy Doherty. Both delivered speeches at the College Square Plaza in downtown Athens. 

The rally aimed to celebrate the start of early voting at UGA’s Tate Student center and emphasize the importance of UGA students casting their ballots early, encouraging them to motivate friends and family to vote through reminders such as phone banking and canvassing. 

Tiaris Ayala, an undergraduate student at University of Georgia, attended the GOTV rally after participating in a Kamala Harris tailgate event in Athens. In addition, she wanted to support Harris and the rally’s objective. Ayala’s main concerns include affordable healthcare, gun control, and reproductive rights. 

“There’s a large amount of diversity here (Athens) in comparison to other counties,” Tiaris Ayala said. “We’re a university with so many different students with different opinions and different views on things they want to advocate for.”

Doherty discussed current representative Republican Mike Collins’ entitlement to his seat and the need for change, emphasizing issues like body autonomy, environmental concerns, healthcare and fair wages. Doherty criticized the opposition’s focus on lowering taxes for the wealthy and corporations, highlighting the unacceptable state of healthcare in the “wealthiest country.” In addition, she stressed the importance of long-term effort and perseverance in achieving a better world, comparing it to the ongoing struggle against COVID-19.

“They want to be able to tell us what we can and can’t do with our bodies, our lives, and who we can and can’t love and obviously, in a country where we can say that we are for freedom, that’s not what freedom looks like, not struggling friends and support your kids to have health care,” Doherty said. “In a country where we can say that we are for freedom, that’s not what freedom looks like.”  

Ossof highlighted Harris’ role as vice president, including her tie-breaking votes in the Senate, capping the cost of insulin for seniors and passing significant climate change legislation. Ossoff also mentioned the infrastructure law that Harris helped pass, which benefits Georgia by removing lead pipes from drinking water systems and expanding broadband internet. 

“This is deeper than Democrats versus Republicans, UGA. This is about the character of our nation. This is about the rule of law. This is about our Constitution,” Ossoff said. 

Jen Henderson attended the event to support Ossoff and her son, Ethan Henderson, and share the experience and the excitement of the rally. Henderson’s main issue is abortion and believes events like the GOTV rally can motivate young voters to vote.

“These (events) are important because I think it can be hard to get them to the polls, to actually take that next step to vote. So the more of these (events) that they have, the more people that are like texting their friends saying hey do you have a plan to vote, that can actually translate into actual folks, which is the whole point of the election,” Henderson said. 

Ossoff asked the audience to consider the real-world impact of elections on people’s lives, using examples of seniors choosing between medication and utilities and children at risk of lead poisoning and reminded them that they are not just living history but also actively participating in it. He concluded his speech by mentioning early voting on campus and to vote for Kamala Harris. 

Ossoff stressed the significance of young voters who are reluctant to participate in elections in Georgia, noting that every vote will be crucial due to the tight margin in the state. 

“Every vote will count in Georgia. A young voter’s vote probably has more impact than any state in the country because of how close this election is. And my message to young folks is, if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu. If you don’t participate, powerful people aren’t going to care about you. The way to have power as young people in the United States is to vote is to be relevant, to count and to be counted,” Ossoff said to reporters.