05/15/2026
Last Friday, four unelected judges in Virginia threw out the votes of more than three million people. Not because the voters did anything wrong. Because four unelected judges decided they knew better than the people.
Let that sink in.
This is not an isolated moment. Just two weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act — a law that took a century of struggle to pass — and this Court just dismantled it in a single opinion. Now, Republican legislatures in Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana are already redrawing maps specifically designed to silence communities of color.
As an Iranian American, I know what it looks like when a system decides that certain voices are optional. History has a name for that. It is not democracy.
But here is what I also know: democracy does not live or die in Washington. It lives right here. In North Hempstead. In our town halls and our school boards and our local races.
They want you to feel powerless. Don’t give it to them. This November, North Hempstead has a chance to show what real leadership looks like. Show up.
