Meghan Markle Emphasizes the Importance of Voting in Every Election
In a new, wide-ranging interview in Vogue, Meghan Markle spoke with Gloria Steinem about the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade. The Duchess of Sussex shared, "I called Gloria immediately. Because in all of it, she reminds me that when you have anger, you have to channel that energy into something that makes a difference. That’s what activism is. It’s about how we show up."
For Markle, showing up means voting—and she perhaps gave readers a peak into her activism in the months to come.
Justice Thomas’s concurring opinion, Markle said, "is a blueprint for reversing rights." She continued, "The ruling is a signal about the future of same-sex marriage, contraception access, and many fundamental rights to privacy. It feels like the tip of the iceberg and is part of why people feel so scared. We have to channel that fear into action. We can start this November in the midterms. I know hearing that feels so repetitive, but we have to vote, every time, from local elections to state and national elections."
She also emphasized the need to "not wallow," and channel any despair into action.
"I always look at things with the undercurrent of hope," Markle said. If you are someone who truly believes that there can be something better, if you’re someone who sees injustice, you have a choice: You can sit there and be complacent and watch it, or you can say, "What can I do to get us to the other side of this?'"
Markle voted in the 2020 election, and this is not the first time she's emphasized the importance of going to the polls.
In August 2020, she joined 99 other women—including former First Lady Michelle Obama—sharing why voting is so important to her. "I know what it's like to have a voice, and also what it's like to feel voiceless. I also know that so many men and women have put their lives on the line for us to be heard. And that opportunity, that fundamental right, is in our ability to exercise our right to vote and to make all of our voices heard," Markle said.
Plus, in a separate conversation with Steinem ahead of the 2020 election, Steinem shared, "Meg is herself, smart, authentic, funny, political. She came home to vote. And the first thing we did and why she came to see me was we sat at the dining room table here—where I am right now—and cold-called voters. And said, 'Hello, I'm Meg,' and, 'Hello, I'm Gloria,' and, 'Are you going to vote?' That was her initiative."
Stay tuned if Markle continues her push to the polls ahead of this year's midterm elections.
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