Seattle Pride & Drag Out The Vote

Join us from 12 – 4 pm on Sunday, Oct. 18 at the Seattle Central College campus (corner of Broadway & Pine) for a special Vote with Pride event featuring three of Seattle’s beloved drag performers – Aleksa Manila, Vincent Milay and Gaysha Starr – presented by Seattle Pride and Drag Out The Vote™.

The event is an opportunity for you to learn about important issues, register to vote, and pick up free Voter Kits, Vote with Pride campaign yard signs, window signs, stickers and more from the drag artists and Seattle Pride volunteers.

“This year, the election is more important than ever with so much at stake from basic human and civil rights, a global pandemic, and an economy suffering from both,” says Gaysha Starr. “Having drag queens and kings helping to get out the vote has never been done before . . . not like this, honey.”

It’s all part of Seattle Pride’s collaboration with Drag Out The Vote to grow LGBTQIA+ voter registration (currently 1 in 5 LGBTQIA+ adults is not registered to vote) and voter participation to help ensure that voters from all struts of life sashay their way to the ballot box – because in this election every vote counts – my vote, your vote, every vote.

“Since the sixties, drag has blended art and activism,” said Dylan Austin, a Seattle Pride board member who also works with Drag Out The Vote promoting participation in democracy. “Drag queens and trans women ignited the Stonewall uprising in 1969, and ever since drag performers have commanded attention and been at the forefront speaking their minds on many of our most pressing public issues. Now they are uniting to increase voter turnout, particularly among 18-25 year olds, queer people, people of color, and queer people of color.”

“Between LGBTQIA+ equality, transgender rights, queer workplace protections, BIPOC representation and equity, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, and gender-affirming healthcare, we have to see strong voter turnout in 2020 and beyond. The issues most important to the LGBTQIA+ community require leadership and action from equality-minded elected officials, and voting is the least we can do to make that kind of progress,” added Austin.

While the Human Rights Campaign estimates that LGBTQIA+ registered voters vote at a higher rate than the general public, the fact remains that one in five LGBTQIA+ adults is not currently registered to vote according to a national Williams Institute and Ipsos/Reuters poll.

“With more than five percent of adults in the state identifying as LGBTQIA+, it’s important that we get as many as possible within our community to register and vote, as our collective voice can be quite powerful,” according to Austin.

Drag Ambassador Aleksa Manila said, “Voting matters to me because as an immigrant Filipinx of API descent, trans-genderqueer drag activist, social worker and U.S. citizen, I want to exercise my right to vote and help shape the future of our community. A vote isn’t just for one person, it impacts the lives of millions of people.”

“Voting for me is . . . not just about queer rights, but climate change policies and healthcare. We need to focus on what is important and all work together toward a future which is based on loving each other, and our planet,” added Drag Ambassador Vincent Milay.

With the added help from our drag ambassador friends, Seattle Pride plans to distribute 1,000 campaign signs over the next few weeks until Election Day.

Throughout the Vote with Pride campaign, the public is invited to submit their election-related efforts online at www.SeattlePride.org for a chance to win pair of Alaska Airlines tickets to be awarded at the end of each of the five week, plus a grand prize which also includes a Fjällräven Kånken Rainbow Pack, $100 Nordstrom gift card, and more.

To enter, simply complete actions within three categories – voter education, get out the vote, and advocacy. Each question, or task, will be worth points – the more points you accumulate during the week, the more times you are entered into the week’s prize drawing to be announced at the end of each week.

You can learn more about our Vote with Pride campaign and how to enter our contest to win a weekly prize of round-trip airline tickets from Alaska Airlines HERE.

Clockwise from upper left:
Aleksa Manila, Vincent Milay, Gaysha Starr, Dylan Austin