The Rise of the Bike Voter

Our board endorsed Scott Peters and James Kimber for Congress. Please vote, if you haven’t already. Don’t know where to vote? Find your polling place here. BikeSD Inc, is a registered 501(c)(4)

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Few motivators of social change match the potency of the purse and power. Economic and political incentives in the United States have favored the motor vehicle over the last century, making our neighborhoods adjuncts to thruways and improvised highways, chasing the children away, pushing social intercourse into privatized spaces, and suffocating what we at BikeSD call “livability.” Yet, the economic situation is changing: young, well-educated people (the kind who cities like San Diego are desperate to attract and retain) are demanding mobility options that prioritize walking, bicycle riding, and transit. They are doing so with both their pocketbook and moving trucks, creating market conditions that encourage cities to meet their needs. Now, the political tide is turning as well.

Emergent data from national organizations such as the League of American Bicyclists make a case for the “bike voter” as a political power bloc and swing demographic in the spirit of the soccer moms and NASCAR dads of years past. The significance of this moment should not be missed; building a narrative around data can shape the political realities that then shape our material realities in San Diego, producing a more livable city in spatial features and lived experience. While often maligned, the swing demographics discussed in the last twenty years had indelible impacts on the political process and the realpolitik on a whole range of issues.

So, who is the bike voter? We can understand the term through two groups. First, middle and upper-middle class, highly educated professionals have re-populated the urban core in cities across the nation. These voters seek the attributes of neighborhoods designed before the dominance of the automobile because of walkability, bikeability, and proximity to both the workplace and cultural amenities. They vote for the viability and quality of life of their neighborhoods, and they vote in high numbers. They see the bicycle as a vehicle of altruism – the symbol of a whole range of positive lifestyle values, whether they bike or not.

The second group are the working-class, often immigrant, usually from underserved and underrepresented racial and ethnic groups who also live in the urban core, but have not benefited from the political attention provided to the more affluent, gentrified neighborhoods populated by the votes described above. These voters rely less on the personal automobile and are interested in transit options and the quality of infrastructure, although vote at a historically lower rate than the general population. These voters are passionate about environmental health, and directly live under the consequences of government decisions because of a reliance on public infrastructure for mobility. They ride not so much by choice, but because of the common sense a bicycle represents in terms of mobility.

The real power of the “bike voter” is bringing these two groups together into one power bloc. More than a swing demographic, the bike voter has the power to build solidarity across economic and cultural backgrounds to improve the safety, accessibility, and livability of all residents. Here at BikeSD, we believe that our steadfast focus on livability as well as our alignment with mobility justice movements helps make this connection. You can start by voting today.