By Ted Womack

For as long as I can remember, most people I know feel as though "we" are never “invited” to the political party. It seems as though "they" don’t want us to join the party at the polls and vote.

Welp, It’s 2016 and I am personally inviting you to Crash the Party and vote this Tuesday, November 8!

"We" are the people who continue to see our neighborhoods gentrified.

"We" are the people whose children attend schools with menial resources.

"We" are the people who work two or even three jobs, but still can’t afford rent.

This is our reality.

But what still is not a reality to most people is that voting can make a real difference. I’ve seen it and been a part of it, and that’s why I’m crashing the party and I am inviting my community to join me.

Education is very important to me, which is why it saddens me to see the current state of the schools in my community. When I first entered the San Diego Unified School District, I was challenged and engaged. It wasn’t until junior high school that I was no longer stimulated.

I also noticed that budget cuts were happening. And the cuts kept getting deeper. Less money means less resources and materials for the kids and teachers. Then I figured it out: budget cuts = boring classes.

We can do something about this! The number one factor that can transform our education system is participating in the political process and voting. As cliché as this sounds, we can literally change the world. One vote at a time.

Over the last few months, I have personally invited thousands of San Diegans to crash the party to make change in their communities. Here at Alliance San Diego, we are giving people information that “they” don’t want “us” to have. We are standing up and inviting every overlooked community to crash the party with us.

Ted Womack has been knocking on doors across San Diego to encourage people to vote as part of Alliance San Diego’s civic engagement program.