Sri Preston Kulkarni, Democratic Nominee for U.S. Congress TX-22
SUGAR LAND: Voting is the bedrock of Democracy. It is a right fought for since the grand experiment of America first began over two hundred years ago. Voting is a right that wars and marches and lawsuits had to protect and expand throughout our nation’s history. Whether it’s with black thumbs, colored pebbles in jars, or ballot boxes, the idea that every human being has a right to have their opinion expressed in how they are governed is the heart of democracy.
On Monday October 22nd until November 6th, we need you to express that right. We need you to vote.
When I first started this campaign, I was advised to ignore the votes of immigrant communities. I was told by elected officials and consultants that don’t bother, they don’t vote. But after talking to so many of you, it was apparent that maybe our communities don’t vote because we never bothered.
So we ran our campaign the hard way, the right way, by reaching out to people wherever they are and to listen and speak to them in whatever manner they would feel most comfortable with. We went to high schools to listen to young people. We went to temples, mosques, churches, and other places of worship to register voters and pray. We went to HOA meetings and block parties to engage neighbors and friends. We crisscrossed this district with the simple goal to meet and listen to every community regardless of partisanship, faith, ideology, or ethnicity. We are the second most diverse district in the country and it’s time we had a representative who engaged with all of us.
Throughout my fourteen years in the Foreign Service, I was stationed all over the world from Taiwan and Russia to Iraq, Israel, and Jamaica. I have seen democracies fall and nation-states struggle, and although America remains a place of hope and optimism to others around the world, our light is faltering. America is strongest when all of its citizens participate and are engaged with government. When all of our voices rise together and speak. When all of us vote.
Texas is one of the two lowest voter turnout states in America. Immigrant communities vote at lower levels than the national average. This year we need to change that.
So as we head into these next few days I’m asking you for your help. I’m asking you to call your friends, drive your neighbors to the polls, and push your family to vote. If you can volunteer or donate, please join us.
America doesn’t have to be divisive. We don’t have to have leaders who spread fear and stir hate. We can vote and change that. We can choose leaders who inspire, who will ensure government is an advocate for the people not corporations, and who represent the best in all of us. So Vote.
Early voting begins Monday, October 22nd. Vote early. If you don’t, expect calls from your friends and neighbors until you do because this election is too important for us not to. We are voting for affordable healthcare for our families; for safe, well-funded schools for our children; for an environment that is protected; for families to be re-united; for criminal justice reform; and for democracy itself.
Together our votes can change our communities and our country. We can be the next great American story. We can bring reason, compassion, and decency to Congress and fight for true American values. The values of hope that drew so many of our parents and ancestors to these shores, of optimism that hard work and perseverance could lead to a better life for ourselves and our children, and of safety – because America has always been a nation of refugees and immigrants fleeing famine, war, and hate and seeking a better life.
And so we must vote. It is our right, our civic duty, and our obligation to those who came before us and to one another. So vote.
October 22nd early voting begins. You can vote at any early voting location in the county in which you are a resident. You need your driver’s license or passport as ID. You can find voting locations at mytexasvotes.org.
Thank you for all your support. Now vote.
-Sri Preston Kulkarni
Democratic Nominee for U.S. Congress TX-22