I’m an Angry Voter This Year and Here’s Why

People are often surprised that I’m not a super voter or someone who has voted in every election. I struggle with the privilege of claiming that one must vote to have a voice in democracy. Show up or shut up is hardly a democratic ideal. It can, in fact, lead people to feel more alienated […]

Q&A Election 2020: Nat Yap, Political Activist with the Order of the Phoenix

Nat Yap Pennsylvania Democrat

This is a new limited-Q&A series focusing on Election Day. I’ve approached an array of regional folks to ask them the same seven questions about the election. This election is complicated in ways we never thought possible, but there are paths forward. Listening to what our neighbors are prioritizing and how they are framing the […]

Q&A with Matt Merriman-Preston about Voting by Mail in November’s Election

Earlier this year, I published two Q&A’s about the rapid changes to the Pennsylvania primary voting process, one with Kris Rust and one with Matt Merriman-Preston. In late July, I approached them about updating for the General Election. Then Trump swooped down on the United States Post Office and tried to break it. He literally […]

Q&A With Emily Skopov, Candidate for State House District 28

Emily Skopov

  We are revisiting our Political Q&A series for the upcoming elections of 2020. We’ve reached out to candidates who are pro-choice and pro-LGBTQ, asking them a series of questions about their campaigns. We’ve sent out about a dozen Q&A’s to folks and encourage you to suggest others. Candidates can be anywhere in Pennsylvania running for any […]

Q&A with Matt Merriman-Preston About the Pennsylvania Primary Election, Mail-In Ballots, and More

This is a very confusing time. We spend hours trying to find toilet paper and disinfectant, worrying about access to critical medications that are being redirected to maybe cure COVID-19, and having our evening news interrupted by a ridiculous puppet President who lies and misleads us every single fucking day. One point of confusion is […]

Butler Mayoral Election is Referendum Vote on Municipal NonDiscrimination Ordinance Says Local Trans Activist

“[The Nov 7 General Election] will be seen as a referendum vote [on nondiscrimination ordinances].  So, if it fails, no elected official will bring this back up anytime soon, in Butler or the surrounding area. If we get this passed, then it will show the neighboring municipality that it is not political suicide to bring this up and vote on it.”

Election 2014 Don’t Let the Trans Community Bear the Brunt of the Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Alone

Vote Pennsylvania

There are many reasons to vote and many critical elections impacting Southwestern PA. It is easy to give in to the sense of inevitability or futility and not bother to turn out, but that’s exactly what our opponents want to see happen. The act of voting IN SPITE of the odds is an act of […]