This Tuesday, November 5th is the US election and we’re encouraging everyone to get out and vote if you haven’t done so already. Over 80 million individuals have already done their duty and made their voice heard at the ballot box. Today is the official day and the last day to do so. If you haven’t already cast a ballot, you still have time today.

This is the most important election of our lifetime. That is often thrown around but from someone who has worked dozens of elections with dozens of candidates over 25 years, this isn’t an exaggeration. We have a chance to make our voice heard and say the direction we want to see this country go. Democracy is literally on the ballot.

Yesterday, I made an endorsement and think there’s one choice when it comes to President and really one party to support up and down the ballot this election.

This is a choice between an attempt to support normalcy or a continued march towards fascism and election interference. The stances of the candidates and parties are clear.

There’s so many elections are every level that are vital and could spell doom for the future of our democracy if the wrong individual is elected.

There are still lots of local races, ballot initiatives, bonds, and more to vote on, and some of these will set the direction of the country!

You still have a lot of time to figure out everything you’ll be voting for. If you need to find your polling place or what’s on your local ballot Vote 411 can help. Vote.org is another site that can help you as well.

If you go to vote and encounter an issue call the voting rights hotline at 866 OUR-VOTE. 

Most importantly, get out and vote this Tuesday!

This Tuesday is the most important election in United States history. That’s said often lately, but, as a veteran of politics for 25 years, I can state this is not an exaggeration. The choices are clear and contrast stark. Beyond rights for women, LGBTQ, and democracy itself is on the line. One candidate, and his supporters, threaten to send back the country to a more regressive time and gut the United States government to a non-functioning shell of what it is. What protections exist will be removed harming those who reside within this nation and ripple across the world.

That agenda and viewpoint of what they bring to the table, former President Donald Trump and the elected officials that support him, are a threat to the country as well as the comic industry as a whole.

Here are just a few ways their election would negatively impact the comic industry:

1. Repeal the ACA – The comic industry is made up of freelancers and within the United States, that means it can be difficult for creators to get healthcare. Through the ACA, though it’s imperfect, they are able to purchase health insurance, get it even with pre-existing conditions, and the cap on payouts has been removed. With the election of Donald Trump to a second term, it would likely he’d again move to eliminate the ACA and its protections.
2. Increase Tariffs means increased costs – A tariff is a tax levied by the government on imported goods. Donald Trump has said he’d increase tariffs in his second term. That’s a tax increase on individuals and estimates have the average increase in costs at $3,000 to individuals. But, that would also mean a possible cost of imported items related to the comic industry… like comics and graphic novels. Comics and graphic novels are often printed in China and Mexico and would possibly see greater tariffs imposed on them. In 2019, Trump imposed a 15% tariff on most books imported from China which was eventually reduced to 7.5%. A second Trump administration could see a tariff on comics and graphic novels which would force an increase on their cover price and decrease sales. That would further threaten the industry.
3. Even if comics could be published… we have see a “war” on books, graphic novels, and manga in recent years in a reignited culture war perpetuated by the right. Project 2025, the blueprint for a second Trump administration. Within that blueprint includes criminalizing pornography and imprisoning those who produce it. Pornography in the eyes of the right seems to include the mere mention of the existence of LGBTQ individuals, let alone stories revolving around them. It would not be a stretch to see an attempt to label comics and graphic novels with LGBTQ characters and themes as pornography and criminalize it. Project 2025 would further limit discussions in classrooms and lead to further book bans.

Beyond these three issues we’ve seen the dehumanization of groups of people, attacks and threats on anyone who disagrees with them, and more violent acts by Trump supporters, with more sure to come.

Vice President Kamala Harris on the other hand has discussed an “opportunity economy” and “new way forward.” Not only would she protect the rights of women to decide what they want to do with their bodies. Her focus is to bring down the cost and increase the economic security for Americans, including cutting taxes for more than 100 million working and middle class Americans and lowering costs for health care, housing, and groceries. She has talked about making rent more affordable, and we hope that would include businesses that are being squeezed out from their storefronts, an issue impacting comic shops. She also has stated she will expand the startup expense tax deduction for new businesses from $5,000 to $50,000 and focus on cutting red tape that makes it difficult for small businesses to grow. That’s just a small amount of what she has stated as goals of her Presidency.

Due to all the above and more, the choice is clear this Tuesday, vote Kamala Harris for President.