Why don’t you?

Posted on October 21, 2009

Vote. Why don’t you? Never in the history of our Republic has voting been easier or more accessible. Recently I spent some time thinking about this topic. Every day I work to find ways to engage and educate youth to encourage them to vote. So, voting, this time of the year, is on my mind.

Last year in November 131 Million Americans voted. The highest turnout ever. However, that was a paltry 63% of the estimated 209 million voting age eligible adults. This year, when we elect our Mayors, School Board members, council members and trustees, less than one out of three eligible voters will cast a ballot.

Why? After 200 years of work do only one in three vote on election day? In the first Presidential election, only six per cent of Americans were eligible to vote. And these men didn’t elect George Washington; they voted only for delegates to the Electoral College, an institution established to further restrain the popular will.

Restrain the popular will? What? True, our founding fathers never expected or dare I say, desired, the populace to vote. That is why hundreds of thousands of died and fought to secure the right to vote, moving us from a Republic to a Democracy over the last 200 years.

White male land owners were the first voters. Most elections they voted by voice at townhall meetings. Larger elections like that for Washington was done with Ballots printed in the newspaper or distributed by politicos. Ballots then were brought to a central location, often surrounded by more politicos and the ballot openly passed to the election judge. Safe, secure, secret, not really, yet they voted. Today your ballot can be mailed to your house and submitted via the mail, safe, secure and secret. Without effort.

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution were passed following the Civil War, in the latter 1860s. They outlawed slavery and extended civil rights and suffrage (voting rights) to former slaves. These Amendments begin to move us closer to the Democracy we enjoy today. However, many obstacles still remained for those wishing to vote following the Civil War.

Women, women, who outvoted men in 2008, 70 million to 60 million fought for that right. The 19th amendment in 1920 gave American women the right to vote. Switzerland didn’t get there til the 70’s and Kuwaiti women waited until the 1990’s to vote.

The 1960’s brought us the Voting Rights act, the 24th Constitutional Amendment (ratified by the states in 1964), and really opened the way for people of color to vote without restriction. Side note, following this amendment, five states still kept a poll tax. Alabama, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas and Mississippi. The Supreme Court outlawed all poll taxes in a 1966 decision Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections. 7 states still have not ratified this amendment and one, Mississippi, specifically rejected the amendment in 1962.

Yet, according to Census data, only 60% of voting eligible black Americans voted in the 2008 election. 16 million voters of the 26 million eligible. If Obama couldn’t turn out more who can?

Vietnam was the impetus for a national movement to drive down the voting age to 18 from 21. As more and more young people were drafted into military service without the right to vote the 26th Amendment moved quickly for ratification.

So, here we are, 3 years from a Presidential election and I am talking voting. Let me ask you some questions.

1) When you have a problem with your local playground who do you call?

2) When your streets aren’t plowed who do you contact?

3) There has been a rash of robberies in your neighborhood which person is best to assist you with organizing your neighbors to action?

4) School budgets have tightened and programs have been reduced and your favorite teacher was laid off, the best person to discuss this with is:

Get my point? So, after a half dozen constitutional amendments and wars fought, men and women jailed, why don’t you vote this November 3rd? Voting in your local elections, dare I say, has a greater impact in your day to day living than the big elections every 4 years. Every election matters. Every vote counts. Exercise your right.

I know what most of you will say. My councilman is unopposed. Then vote in the school board race. Vote your conscience, Blackwell’s office would say, for or against the issues. Don’t like the casinos? Want a casino here in Ohio, voice your opinion. Don’t like either of the two candidates, voice your choice by skipping that question and moving to the next one.

For more information about candidate races and issues in your community follow these links:
Montgomery County www.mcboe.org
Warren County www.co.warren.oh.us
Greene County www.co.greene.oh.us
Visit the League of Women Voters here in Dayton for more information.

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