We Will Not Be Silent: Get Out the Vote

Hello, hello! I’m Jazmyn, Programs Manager at Silent Book Club. We may read in silence, but when it comes to the things that matter, we speak up. Here’s why voting matters to our community, and how to make your voice heard this year.

Silent Book Club was founded in 2012 to create a space for readers to connect through a shared love of books. Our co-founders, Guinevere and Laura, didn’t set out to be political, but as Roxane Gay once said, “today, tomorrow, and for the foreseeable future, everything we do is political.” Who gets to read, to gather, and to belong is shaped by choices we make together, and voting is one of those choices. 

Election Day in the US is Tuesday, November 3rd, and between now and then, we’re asking every reader in our community to check their registration, make a plan, and use their voice by casting their ballot.

What We Will Not Be Silent About

All are welcome at Silent Book Club, and our community guidelines are clear: we do not tolerate hate. Since 2017, our page wewillnotbesilent.us, has said plainly where we stand, and it still holds:

• We will stand up to people who ban books.

• We will fight for equal rights. 

• We will defend our freedom to read, to love, to marry, to vote, to exist. 

Every one of these lives on a ballot somewhere. For example, school board members decide what stays on library shelves, local election officials and judges shape how our votes are counted, and state and national leaders decide who has access to healthcare, safety, and dignity. Down-ballot races matter just as much as the headline ones. 

Book Bans Have Reached Congress

Book bans aren’t just local anymore. Right now, four bills in Congress would tie federal K-12 education funding to restricting what students can read and learn (I Love Libraries has the details). Author Maia Kobabe, whose Gender Queer: A Memoir is the most challenged book in the US of the past 35 years, breaks down that these bills would mean and how to call your representatives.

Don’t forget

A vote isn’t only about this year. It’s how we take care of each other now, and how we make room for the people coming after us: kids just learning to read, neighbors who can’t vote yet, and readers who’ll find their way to a library (or a Silent Book Club meetup) years from now. 

Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran, reminds us that a democratic society is meant to rest on a plurality of voices. Readers understand this better than anyone: every book is a voice and every shelf is a chorus. A ballot works the same way. One voice is easy to overlook, but thousands of readers voting together, in every chapter and every town, are not.

We also know not everyone has the same freedom to speak out. That’s exactly why those of us who can, must. 

Three things to do this week:

1. Check your registration. Voter rolls change, and it only takes a minute! Visit wewillnotbesilent.us and use the vote.org tool right on the page.

2. Register if you’re not. You can do it from the same page! Deadlines vary by state, so don’t wait!

3. Make a plan. Decide whether you’ll vote by mail, vote early, or go in person on November 3, and don’t forget to put it on your calendar! 

Then tell someone. Text a friend, share this blog post or any other reminders you see on social media, or, if you’re an organizer, bring it up during the social time at your next meetup. Voting is better together, just like reading! 

And if you have the free time, there’s even more you can do. Walk into your local library and ask a librarian what they need. Show up to the next library, school board, or city council meeting. Write postcards to voters or find a volunteer shift near you at mobilize.us. You’ll find more ways to get involved at wewillnotbesilent.us. 

Reading from one of the other 60+ countries where Silent Book Club gathers? Pass this along to friends in the US, and use your voice in your own elections, too!

Get out the vote! 

We’ll continue to make space for you to refuge in books and we, at Silent Book Club, will keep using our power, our privilege, and our platform we’ve built together to speak up for the world we want for all of us.

We will not be silent, and we hope you won’t be either.