Advertisement

Zendaya and Michelle Obama Don't Want You to Procrastinate on Registering to Vote

Photo credit: Instagram
Photo credit: Instagram

From Harper's BAZAAR

Today is National Voter Registration Day, and Zendaya and Michelle Obama are ringing in the holiday by sending their followers a friendly reminder.

In collaboration with When We All Vote, the former First Lady's voter initiative organization, Zendaya and Obama went on Instagram Live to urge people to register to vote as soon as possible.

"As young people, sometimes we procrastinate," said the recently anointed Emmy winner. "I just wanted to talk about really the importance of not waiting 'til the last minute to make sure that you're registered to vote."

Obama responded, "First of all, the fact that we're talking about making sure that your generation is voting is important, because I know there's a lot of people your age who are frustrated with the process. They feel alienated by the system. And a lot of times they think, 'My vote doesn't matter. I don't believe in it. So let me just sit it out or vote for a protest candidate.'"

Obama continued, saying that presidential elections tend to be "decided by just a handful of votes," and citing the small margin of victory in swing states during the 2016 presidential election. "I want you all to just sit with that," said Obama. "When people start thinking, Does my vote matter?, it absolutely does. So, yes, it's important not to procrastinate, because Election Day sometimes comes and goes, and folks don't even remember that it happened. So we're encouraging people to make a plan right now."

Obama previously spoke with writer and producer Shonda Rhimes for BAZAAR's 2020 summer issue about why she thinks voting matters.

"Voting is so much bigger than one election, one party, or one candidate," she said. "It's great to feel inspired by candidates and the visions they put forth, but it is by no means a prerequisite to casting a ballot. Because at the end of the day, someone is going to be making the decisions about how much money your schools get and how tax money is distributed. Voting gives you a say in those matters."

You Might Also Like