About Us

In 2016, while following the election results, I watched a map of my country bleed red.  The harder realization would come later as I learned just how divided my friends and family would be on this subject.  So, I entered into a political rabbit hole in order to gain knowledge about why this happened. What did people really care about when they cast their ballot, and who was actually voting?  As we all began to emerge from the four years of Trump as our president one thing weighed heavy on my mind.  I could not in good conscience stay in California and cast my ballot again in a state that felt it wouldn't hold weight. I had to find answers.  Could I register to vote and move to a swing state for the 2020 election? Is that even legal?  As I found answers, more important questions surfaced as the pandemic took hold.  How would my friends at home with a disability cast their ballot? Could my friends with Down syndrome vote?  What about Dr. Williams who I had heard of registering voters in jail in the deep south - could that continue to be done during a pandemic?  What about the important swing states that were home to so many Native American voters; do they turn out to vote?  So, in the fall of 2020 with far too much at stake, I set out on a filmmaking journey to better understand the breadth of perspectives among the American voters and what it would take for a vote to count in 2020. 

 

We hope that Does My Vote Count? will be a call to action for people around the country. We intend for it to inspire people to get and stay involved, and make sure their vote has power in the upcoming elections and beyond. However, we also want to make a film that stands the test of time. We believe in telling the stories of everyday people trying to make a change within their community. The voices of those who are often ignored and even suppressed need to be amplified.  By weaving together personal stories from various swing states and showing viewers how progress was made through a grassroots lens, we can make a social impact by teaching important truths about activism and voting. 

I understand that it can take many years to get a film to the finish line.  I also know that, because of those we interviewed that gave their voice to this project, time is of the essence here.  So many of these people are counting on me in the hopes that these stories about voting can be shared far and wide before the next presidential election.  Because of these incredible people I am doing my utmost to make that happen. This is the right time for this project to move forward because as one of our interviewees put it, "Our democracy is on the line and we don't have much time to save it!”