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“Bad officials are the ones elected by good
citizens who do not vote.”
– George Jean Nathan
At times, a group of people with differing opinions must
come together to make a decision between several options.
This happens in business, social organizations and politics.
In business, those left out of the process fight back.
In social organizations, those not allowed a voice in
selecting officers, planning events or spending demonstrate their displeasure
by quitting or changing the bylaws.
In America, everyone registered to vote has an equal
voice in the republican process.
Yet only on rare occasions do half of them show up. Those
who stay home show no concern after the damage done by electing the wrong
person.
“When fewer votes are cast, every vote counts
more.”
– Alex
Macon
After the two elections of Barack Obama, every American
is aware all political races in our nation depend on whose supporters vote.
A Census Bureau report shows a higher percentage of
African Americans than whites voted in the Obama elections for only the second
time in our history.
The driving force in 1968 was an anomaly to political or
ethnic polarity since it was the first election after the passage of the Voting
Rights Act of 1965.
Over 70 percent of blacks voted in the Obama contests, and
the Hispanic vote increased by 9.4 percent. Only 64 percent of white voters
made the effort.
“You can fool some of the people some of the
time and that's enough to make a decent living.”
– WC
Fields
Democracies around the world hold elections to reboot
their nations. Some register everyone and it is mandatory to vote. Others shame those who don’t.
But turnout in American elections is fraught with a
pattern of shrinking participation. We
are lucky to get half of our voters to the polls during a presidential race and
10 percent for local elections!
There’s no democracy where every seat in a legislative
house is up for grabs every two years where so few votes are cast. This is
routine in every midterm election.
“Every election in America has been
determined by those who don’t vote.”
–
Carl Williams
According to recent data from the U.S. Census, our voter
turnout is the lowest in the free world.
There are more than 240 million voting-aged Americans, yet nearly
130 million consistently don’t vote.
And why do Americans take the sacramental duty to vote so
lightly?
They
have more excuses than the guy who got busted for shoplifting at Walmart.
Those who seldom vote claim: “My vote doesn’t count, why
vote.”
This is a typical excuse for not voting in the
presidential election.
Although
the Electoral College does elect the president, these voters are a bit
confused: They elect the Electoral College who must support their candidate.
“Stupid is as stupid does.”
–
Forrest Gump
[…]
The price we pay for freedom is responsibility.
It's a debt we’ll never pay off.
Not voting sends a clear message of disrespect for the
lives of many people who died fighting for these rights.
It’s uncanny to think of where America would be if our
founders, activists, and soldiers felt the same way as so many pacifist voters
do today.
No one gave them a mandate to do what they did for
America in the face of far more difficult times than many of us have ever
encountered.
Not voting can lead to the destruction of an entire
nation if the wrong candidate wins.
[…]
William
Haupt III is a retired professional journalist, author, and citizen legislator
in California for over 40 years. He got his start working to approve California
Proposition 13.
