Why We Vote

A special drawing—“VOTE!”—by Maja Lindall, age 10, was featured in the election issue of AFSCME’s newspaper, On the Move. This is an interview with the artist.

Why do you think voting is important?

MAJA: Voting is how you have your say, how you get your voice heard, how you throw your tiny hat into the ring. It’s how you get your input into whoever is leading you or whatever you’re voting on.

Why is this year’s election different from those before?

MAJA: Because we’re in a pandemic and a lot of people want to see more leadership about covid. Also we’re in a stage of racial divide and people want to see someone doing something about that as well. Different topics are motivating people and empowering them to vote, and that what has them looking forward to and anticipating this election.

When you sat down to draw the image, what did you have in mind?

MAJA: Mostly the picture came out the way I had imagined it. When I started working on the art I was mostly just thinking about trying to find a way to incorporate different, diverse people into a picture. An image is worth a thousand words, and I can say so much by how I drew the people and who I drew. When I sat down to draw it I was trying to find a way to show different backgrounds and diversity because we’re all uniting to vote.

How do you think the union makes a difference?

MAJA: A union represents a group of people and can help them stand up for themselves, as well as give them a say. That’s important. People need to form unions to empower themselves.

How long have you been making art? What do you like about it?

MAJA: I’ve been making art for basically as long as I could pick up a marker and draw, even if it was on the wall or the inside of the refrigerator (laughs)! Making art just makes me feel relaxed, if I’m pulling out my sketchbook just to get something out of my head and wind down. But I also love how it can convey such a big message. That’s really cool.