Athletes in Arms: Voting is a responsibility, not a choice

In the first piece I wrote for the Daily Trojan, I concluded that accountability is a central tenet of all team sports. Holding others accountable may seem daunting, but this past week I experienced how easy it is when an urgent matter is driving you.

Last week, our coaching staff made us aware that teams across USC Athletics are challenging each other to be fully registered to vote. Following this announcement, the men’s volleyball coaches stated it would be a personal choice among players to register, and they would not pressure us. 

When I read that, however, I felt the same sense of urgency in my gut as when I am competing and my team is down and in need of an answer. Despite the power that the coaching staff’s words hold, I felt the need to put that responsibility on my back and compel my teammates to vote. After telling players and staff that participating in the democratic process is a civic responsibility rather than a choice, I recommended voting as an effective first step to returning volleyball to USC safely.

I ended my message to the group in similar fashion as I ended my first column: “Hold each other and yourselves accountable.”

A couple days later, I was tasked by the coaching staff with ensuring complete voter registration of the men’s volleyball roster. When I took up the job, I was just coming back from a doctor’s appointment with a midterm looming on my mind. I initially thought this would be a huge project, but as I started to send out individual texts, I realized it really wasn’t hard at all. After additional links were sent and two teammates registered, all 30 of us, including coaches, were set to vote in the upcoming election. The first part of the job, registration, was complete. 

What I thought would take a week took all of four hours. With less than four weeks until Election Day, the United States needs to ensure better voter turnout than seen in the 2016 general election, when 60.1% of voting eligible people had ballots counted — meaning nearly four in 10 of those eligible to vote did not do so.

Although I was not eligible to vote in the 2016 general election, I don’t quite remember the push to vote that I have seen this year across much of U.S. media and pop culture. For people who have registered to vote or those who have already voted, it may be tedious to tell Instagram or Facebook that you’re all set. On the other hand, it’s astounding to see how many entities have held us all accountable. Hell, even SoundCloud was not going to be left out.

Voter registration may be the easiest part of the process because it is non-partisan. No one is telling you how to vote, just to vote. 

After I made sure everyone was registered, I was then tasked by the coaches with step two of educating the team on the election itself. I hoped that the first presidential debate would educate some of the team on the policies of both candidates, but instead of a debate we received nearly two hours of interruptions that left many dissatisfied.  

So I sit here right now wondering how to properly “educate” a team of college volleyball players in a country that has been recently consumed by hyper-political activism on both sides. As I ruminate on how to properly balance my responsibilities given by my coach and my moral and political beliefs, I can only hope that every vote is actually counted. 

I have been equal parts optimistic and pessimistic about the act of voting come November. With the absence of many in-person sports, many institutions including USC have volunteered arenas such as Galen Center as polling stations. I have seen absentee ballots sent out and delivered and the process has already started for millions of Americans.

Now, as President Donald Trump continues to question the legitimacy of mail-in voting, it leaves me concerned that much of the work people are doing to get people out to vote will not count because of a political tactic. 

A primary goal of USC men’s volleyball in our “Methodology and Process to Attain and Maintain Competitive Excellence” is to “provide clarity of collective and individual goals, built upon integrity and accountability.” Moving forward, with less than a month before Election Day, every voter is responsible for the same goal. When you cast your ballot, you are accountable for clearly understanding not just your own goals but your goals for the country’s future. 

Make sure to check out www.vote.org/ to solidify your plan to vote!

Liam Schroeder is a junior writing about sports and social justice. He is also a middle blocker on the USC men’s volleyball team. His column, “Athletes in Arms,” runs every Thursday.