Advocacy

An HIV advocate’s guide to the 2024 election

Info for our communities on registering to vote, and why your voice matters this pivotal election season.
By San Francisco AIDS Foundation
July 31, 2024   < 1 Minute Read
Photo by Brooke Anderson | @movementphotographer

Elecciones 2024: Una guía para defensores de la causa del VIH [Spanish]

If it seems like every election for the past few years has had enormous stakes… Well, that’s ‘cause it’s true.

At the national level, authoritarianism and white nationalism continue to threaten our diverse democracy—especially endangering queer people, people of color, and other marginalized communities.

Here in San Francisco, city and state leaders are still failing to address our community’s biggest problems with evidence-backed solutions, like creating Overdose Prevention Centers to save lives and reduce public drug use. Their lack of political will perpetuates San Francisco’s intertwined epidemics of substance-use disorder and HIV.

At San Francisco AIDS Foundation, we advocate and organize year-round for public policies that advance health justice for people affected by HIV. But elections represent a uniquely valuable opportunity for those of us guided by compassion and data to push policymakers in the right direction.

We know it’s exhausting to have to keep showing up every election. And yet, to not show up would be to choose silence, and we in the HIV movement know all too well that Silence = Death. So this November, use your voice. Use your vote.

To make voting as easy as possible, we’ve compiled information below about how to register. Closer to the election, watch this space for info about how to cast your ballot, ballot measures that SFAF is endorsing or opposing, and opportunities to get involved.

 

How to Register to Vote

In order to vote, you first have to register with the State of California’s Elections Division. If you want to vote in the November 5 election, the deadline to register is October 21. After that, you can still register, but you have to do it in person at your county elections office, polling place, or vote center. You can find one of these locations on the Elections Division’s website.

To be eligible to register, you have to be:

The easiest way to register is online. To do this, you’ll need the following info:

  • Your California driver-license or identification-card number. If you don’t have either, you can still use the online registration form, but you’ll have to do an extra step by mail.
  • The last four digits of your Social Security number
  • Your date of birth

The online voter registration form is available in Spanish, Chinese, and several other languages.

If you’re already registered, remember that after you move or legally change your name, you need to re-register.

 

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San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s HIV Advocacy Network (HAN) is a grassroots group of activists in the Bay Area fighting to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic and improve the lives of communities impacted by HIV.

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About the author

San Francisco AIDS Foundation

San Francisco AIDS Foundation promotes health, wellness and social justice for communities most impacted by HIV through sexual health and substance use services, advocacy, and community partnerships. Each year more than 21,000 people rely on SFAF programs and services, and millions more access SFAF health information online.

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