Why I Vote

The Interreligous Institute at CTS reached out to see if I was interested in working with their Why I Vote campaign in partnership with Black Voters Matter and the Action Now Institute. The campaign’s intent was to increase civic engagement by hearing community members reasons for why they vote. I resoundingly said YES.

Community members submitted compelling video responses for why they vote, which were combined with a spoken word performance by artist Obbie West. The urgency and importance of voting in our last presidential election could not have been understated, and spoken Obbie delivered both with poetic mastery.

From an editing perspective, the challenge was combining Obbie’s spoken word with the diverse responses that came in from community members (and whenever there’s an appeal for community submissions). That’s part of the editing puzzle, and one I used to fear in this type of editing project, which requires a “letting go” of a controlled narrative. These days, however, I really enjoy seeing what the editing process uncovers, the similarities and turns that the ordering process reveals while crafting a flow.

Editing aside, it felt incredibly rewarding to be able to use my skills to help this initiative during a profoundly important election year. I hope the participation, or the final videos themselves, helped to inspire even just one new person to vote, or helped solidify an existing voters engagement in our democracy.

“I vote because if we don't vote, someday soon we may lose the right to vote” - community submission

Be sure to watch part 2 of the video below, or watch (or share!) the combined version and continue to vote!

The Interreligous Institute at CTS has been a valued client since 2019. To see more of our work together, check out the project page for the IRI.