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Meghan Markle cast her vote in the California midterm elections, she revealed today, sharing an image of herself proudly wearing an “I voted” sticker.
The 41-year-old, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and now lives in a $14.65 million mansion in Montecito with Prince Harry, 38, and their two children, posted the image to the Sussexes’ Archewell Foundation website. – along with a checklist of reminders for other voters.
Meghan and Harry’s favorite media source, Omid Scobie, also posted the photo of the Duchess on his Twitter account; the photo shows the mother of two in an understated outfit that includes a beige sweater, blue jeans, a blue raincoat and an Archwell baseball cap.
The photo shows the Duchess beaming gleefully at the camera as she poses in front of a lush green hedge.
It’s unclear whether Meghan chose to vote in person or whether she cast her vote through the mail.
Meghan Markle has voted in the California midterm elections, she revealed today – sharing an image of herself proudly wearing an ‘I voted’ sticker
Meghan, 41, and Harry, 38, also shared a ‘voter checklist’ on the website for their Archewell Foundation, with advice like ‘check your voting location and hours’
‘US #Election Day is here!’ Scobie wrote on his Twitter account, sharing the image of the Duchess.
“Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation has created a voter list and opened an SMS service to help people find their polling stations.”
A page on the Archewell website, simply titled “Vote,” features the same image of Meghan, along with a list of “useful reminders” for those preparing to vote in today’s election.
Meghan and Harry also shared an SMS service number, which the website says will help people find their local polling station.
“Send ARCHEWELL to 26797 to find your voting location and make sure you’re ready to vote,” the page reads.
When texted, the song responds with a message from an employee of the I Am a Voter awareness campaign, an initiative aimed at “creating a cultural shift around voting and citizen engagement.”
Meghan and Harry also shared an SMS service number, which the website says will help people find their local polling station. When a message is sent, the number connects the sender to a representative of ‘I Am a Voter’
‘Hello! So grateful that Archewell sent you our way,” reads the text reply. “Let’s get you ready to vote. I’m Zoe from “I’m a Voter” and I’ll make sure you’re ready to vote in future elections.”
The message then asks the sender to reply with their full name to get more help.
Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan’s voter list includes tips such as “check your voting location and times,” as well as a suggestion to “bring snacks, comfortable shoes and a book or activity in case the lines are long.”
The couple also urged voters to “examine what’s on their ballots,” reminding people that they’re “legally allowed to vote,” even if polling stations close while they’re still in line.
“If someone is intimidating or trying to suppress your voting rights, call the voter protection hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE,” reads the last item on the list.
There are a number of diverse issues on the ballot in the California midterm elections, including abortion rights and online sports betting.
Meghan — who has previously spoken out to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade — will no doubt have voted for Prop 1, which prohibits the state from “interfering with an individual’s reproductive freedom, including their right to opting for abortion and their right to use contraceptives’.
Voters will also vote for Senator — with incumbent Democrat Alex Padilla up against GOP candidate Mark Meuser — as well as for state governor, a fight that pits incumbent Democrat Gavin Newsom against GOP rival Brian Dahle.
Meghan has never publicly joined the Democratic party, but her outspoken political views align well with those of the left.
While Meghan was voting in the midterm elections, she previously revealed that her husband is not allowed to vote.
A page on the Archewell website, simply titled ‘Vote’, contains a list of ‘useful reminders’ for those preparing to vote in today’s election
The Sussex’s favorite media contact, Omid Scobie, shared the image of Meghan on his Twitter account, along with a link to the Archewell voter checklist
Prince Harry is not a US citizen and thus cannot run in US elections, but as a royal he has also been unable to vote in the UK – meaning he never took part in an election.
The former Suits star opened up about it during an August 2020 interview with journalist Emily Ramshaw, as she discussed whether voting rights are ‘a privilege’.
‘I look at my husband’ [Prince Harry] for example, he has never been able to vote, and I find it so interesting to say that the right to vote is not a privilege, it is a right in itself,” she said.
The British government states on its website: “While it is not prohibited by law, it is considered unconstitutional for the Monarch to vote in an election.”
However, since leaving the royal family in 2020 and moving to the US, the Sussexes have wasted no time on the country’s politics, something that has sparked furious controversy on both sides of the pond.
Around this time last year, it was revealed that Meghan had made cold calls to Republican senators on their private numbers to lobby for paid paternity leave — a move that met resistance in the US and UK.
Meghan called the Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, who both said they were shocked that the Duchess had called out of the blue and noted that she even used her royal title to lobby for the cause.
Collins told Politico at the time, “I was happy to talk to her, but I’m more interested in what people from Maine are telling me about paid time off.”
Meghan’s lobbying calls came after she wrote a letter to top Democrats lobbying directly on the issue, then bought Starbucks gift cards for employees of an activism group in a high-profile stunt designed to raise awareness of the matter.
As a royal, Harry – who lives in Montecito with Meghan and their children – could not vote in the British election. He is also not allowed to vote in the US because he is not a citizen
The Duchess wrote a lengthy note to Democratic House Speaker and Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer describing when she was forced to participate in middle-class activities in her youth, such as getting a job as a teenager for gas money and food. at a salad bar, to push for the national paid family leave program tucked into the Democrats’ social spending appeasement plan.
Her letter-writing campaign led several Republicans to call on Meghan and Harry to strip their royal titles, with Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo. to DailyMail.com: ‘Ms. Markle’s latest meddling in American politics makes me wonder why the Royal Family doesn’t just officially strip her and Harry of their titles, especially since she insists on sending it under the pretense of being the Duchess of Sussex.”
Then, in June, Meghan plunged into the political pool again when she spoke out against the Roe v. Wade reversal during a conversation with friend and activist Gloria Steinem, 88, and journalist Jessica Yellin for Vogue.
The Duchess of Sussex said all men should join women in the fight to protect abortion rights, adding that Harry is a feminist, and reacted furiously to the Supreme Court decision.
She said, “My husband and I have been talking about that a lot over the past few days. He’s also a feminist,” and in an intervention that will be widely seen as pro-democracy, she said: “We need to channel that fear into action. We can start in November in the midterms. We have to vote, every time’.
She also hinted at the time that she was planning a trip to Washington, DC to join the protests against the Supreme Court ruling — though it’s unclear whether she actually made the trip.
However, Meghan made it clear that she was outraged by the Supreme Court decision, telling Steinem, “Well, Gloria, looks like you and I are going to DC together soon.”
Meghan’s political ambitions have long been talked about since she and Harry emigrated from Britain, including claims that she would “seriously consider” running for president if her husband dropped his royal title.