The Vote: The Other Vaccine
by Leigh Hardy, LICSW
In America, a person’s ability to vote determines that person's health outcomes. Populations with the greatest voter disenfranchisement tend to have the poorest health outcomes. COVID-19 is the most recent example of this phenomenon. This pandemic has brought the most suffering to those who were already suffering the most before COVID-19 began to spread. Unfortunately, treatment and prevention do not reach people the same way the virus does. Vaccination roll-out is rife with preventable inequities. These increase suffering and prolong the end to this pandemic. It is time for social workers to step even further into our roles on the front lines of this pandemic.
Social workers cannot prescribe or inject a vaccine like other medical professionals, but we can vote for one. As social workers, we know that systemic change is the only thing that will bring us out of this pandemic and help prevent the next one. We also know that the vulnerable communities we serve must drive that change. Helping people vote is one of the most effective and most underutilized ways we can do this.
The history of social welfare tells us that civic engagement is always meant to be a part of social work practice. Today, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) encourage integrating voter registration into daily practice. In this historical moment, we must be more than encouraged. Our professional ethics require it of us. And, luckily, we have the tools to do it.
Voting Is Social Work is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that provides social work students and practitioners with the knowledge and tools to raise awareness about voting and to increase voting registration. Check out the website and see how you can get involved.
Vot-ER is creating a future where those most hurt by the healthcare system are empowered to fix it by inviting their voices into the democratic process. All social workers have the legal ability to talk about voter registration with their clients, regardless of setting. Vot-ER makes it easy. You can order your FREE Healthy Democracy Kit here.
As a social worker, exercising the right to vote is one of the best resilience factors you can give yourself and your clients. There is no doubt that it is also a social worker’s professional responsibility at this time. Lucky for us, there are organizations like Voting Is Social Work and Vot-ER that make it fun and easy for us to play this important role. I welcome all social workers to join the movement to strengthen voter literacy and voter enfranchisement in our country.
Leigh Hardy, LICSW, is an East Coast-based social worker who specializes in substance use treatment. She is the founder of Circlevention.