A voter for Kamala Harris has posted an emotional video of herself “ugly crying” after voting in support of the LGBTQ+ community and others.

The voter, who goes by @amberschiffner on the video-sharing platform TikTok, posted a video on October 29 showing her wearing an “I voted today” sticker. She begins, “It took me until today to be able to actually go and cast my vote, because I knew it would make me ugly cry in my car.”

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She continues, “Today, I voted for my friends and family of color. I voted for my LGBTQIA+ family and friends. I voted for my daughter. I voted for women’s rights, and most of all, I voted for joy, because every time I see Kamala Harris’s face, it brings me joy. We need that joy in our lives.”

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“Please go vote. Go vote like your life depends on it, because it does,” she says before ending her recording.

She is one of the estimated 75+ million LGBTQ+ voters and allies who prioritize inclusive policies when making decisions at the ballot box. While only one state has an LGBTQ+-related measure on its ballot — New York’s Proposition 1, which would add sexual orientation, gender identity and pregnancy to the state’s pre-existing anti-discrimination protections — Republicans have promised to roll back LGBTQ+ rights, and voters overwhelmingly see Democrats as a safeguard against that.

“This election will decide whether the next generation of Americans has more rights and freedoms than past generations or fewer,” this year’s Democratic National Platform states. “[Former President Donald] Trump and Republicans are already ripping away Americans’ hard-won freedoms. Reproductive freedom, freedom from hate, freedom from fear, the freedom to control our own destinies and more are all on the line in this election.”

The Democratic platform notes that Trump seeks to further erode abortion protections and also the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits LGBTQ+ discrimination and denial for pre-existing conditions. Trump has appointed numerous federal judges who oppose same-sex marriage, have sided with businesses to reject LGBTQ+ customers, and support ending reproductive rights.

Republicans worry that GOP support for restrictions on abortion access could bring more pro-choice Democratic voters to the polls in the 2024 general elections. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, voters in seven states have supported ballot measures strengthening abortion access, even in conservative states like Kansas, Kentucky, and Ohio.

Abortion measures will be on the ballots in Colorado, Florida, Maryland, and South Dakota, all of which could help bring out Democratic voters to oppose Republicans.

With transphobia harming trans people’s mental health and numerous stories of pregnant people who were denied life-saving care by doctors worried about being prosecuted in states with abortion bans, @amberschiffner is right: voting has seemingly become, for many, a question of life or death.

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