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It’ll be Stacia Doss’ first time voting in a presidential election this year in Texas, but she’s no stranger to the ballot box. The Tennessee native cast her first presidential ballot in 2008 for Barack Obama, a history-making move whose weight she felt.
“I was so excited and I thought things were going to change,” she said. It was an energizing time, she recalls, but feels she’s regressing back to a time before progressive policy, before ‘middle class first,’ to just voting to secure basic rights for herself and others.
“Democracy is at stake here, and many rights are being taken away,” she said.
Her biggest voting motivators are reproductive policies. The 36-year-old Black woman is still considering having children and is willing to relocate to protect her rights. Black women are more than three times likely to die in pregnancy than white women, and after age 35 pregnancy risks increase for all women. Conceiving in Texas could mean actual life or death for her.
Senate Bill 8, or the Texas Heartbeat Act, prohibits a physician from performing or inducing an abortion after a “fetal heartbeat” is detected, and largely translates into an abortion ban after the six-week mark in the pregnancy. There are supposed to be exceptions for medical emergencies, but that isn’t always enforced. There are lots of cases that show emergency room medical staff are not recognizing emergencies and complying with federal law, putting the life of the mother at risk.
“I feel like my mom, who is a Boomer, had more rights as a woman than I do now, when she was my age,” said Doss, who has lived in Dallas for three years. She’s lost her faith in the Supreme Court and feels like she’s just waiting to see what basic protection they’ll overturn next.
Doss wants to see more legislation around gun control and police accountability. She’s the daughter of an Army and police veteran and doesn’t like the above-the-law behavior many officers exhibit. She wants court systems to give consequences for police abusing their power. Mental health emergency training and de-escalation strategies are key changes Doss wants to see for law enforcement.
Since Doss works in marketing at a national career and employment company, she thinks a lot about pay equity and salary transparency and wants to see the workplace become an even playing field for folks of all genders and races through state salary transparency requirements and systems that strongly enforce protected characteristics in the workplace.
She is also looking for an expansion of LGBTQ+ rights and better solutions to our international relations.
To single-issue voters who aren’t hearing what they want to hear from candidates, she cautions that there are no perfect politicians, but that shouldn’t stop people from going to the polls.
“No candidate is all or nothing. You’re always going to have candidates that aren’t a perfect match, but it’s still super important to vote,” she said. “People fought for the right to vote and unless you’re a white man, people who look like you haven’t always had the ability to vote, so it’s important to exercise that right.”
Doss wants voters to remember that local elections are sometimes more important in changing the things that affect everyday life. She’ll be grabbing a sample ballot and researching the candidates and propositions on the November ticket.
The legalization of cannabis is on the Dallas ballot, which is a small step in a bigger effort to decriminalize marijuana throughout the country (and the legal convictions associated with it). Doss thinks this proposition actually has a chance of passing because of all the progressive folks who have moved to the city, undoubtedly influencing local and state positions.
But when there’s change in the Lone Star state Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is known to put up a fight. Whether it’s about gun reform, discrimination, or gender affirming care, Paxton pops up like Mr. Burns from the Simpsons, ruthlessly ignoring the will of the people when it doesn’t fit with his personal agenda. He even tried suing the cities of Austin and San Marcos earlier this summer over their new marijuana ordinances, but county judges dismissed the suits.
To the Attorney General, Doss shares this message.
“You should honor what the voters of Texas have decided. If the majority has said this is what they want, you should respect that, she said. “Like Michelle Obama said, we don’t get to change the rules so we win every time. That doesn’t respect democracy.”
Stacia Doss drums up support for presidential candidate Barack Obama, in Memphis, in the fall of 2008. (Photo courtesy of Stacia Doss)
Doss is clinging to the hope she felt in 2008 and letting that fuel her to stay active and aware, even when things seem dim. “Life is hard enough, I have to find some positivity.”
She reflects on 2020, the country desperately needing something to look forward to after watching nearly 3 million people die around the world of Covid-19.
That election brought new life.
Doss recalls living in Chicago at the time of Joe Biden’s presidential victory. She was informed of the win by hearing the collective cheers from her balcony. Alicia Keys’ ‘Girl on Fire’ echoed through her neighborhood, presumably celebrating the first-ever female Vice President.
“I was just screaming and crying because I was so happy because we finally had some peace.”
Election Days are tense for Doss. She recalls getting the 2016 results while at a networking event and regretted being out and about that day. This year, she’ll be taking the day off. She plans to vote early and then watch election coverage with friends.
“It’s an emotional thing to watch by yourself,” she said. “I’ll try to relax, pray about it, and hope for the best. I’ll have a little watch party with my friends so that we can either celebrate or commiserate together.”
