Voting Matters

I first voted in 1972 and it was the presidential contest – Richard Nixon v. George McGovern – that sparked my interest. My vote for Sen. McGovern did not help put the South Dakota senator in the White House, much less put Maryland in the Democratic column.

The senator only won in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. (Some may recall the Don't blame me, I'm from Massachusetts bumper stickers that showed up after the Watergate scandal.)

My vote for McGovern wasn’t the beginning of my political awareness. I went to college in California in the 1960s; that says a lot. I also come from parents who were aware, informed, and concerned about the issues of the day, especially about fairness and equality – what I now know as “social justice.”

I vote because my parents modeled the behavior, which is how so much is learned. I also had great high school civics teachers who drilled into us that voting is a vital act of civic participation so important to our nation’s representational form of government.

Yes, showing up is crucial for a democracy.

This campaign season I’ve been canvassing door-to-door, usually with another volunteer, to get out the vote – and, yes, persuade voters to vote for Democrats. As a professional communicator, I know face-to-face is the most effective way to communicate.

So, we canvass. My compatriots also canvass, call, write letters, and help in other ways.

It’s vital that voters know about this election and know that they need to show up. Yet, after opening his door one man told us, “I don’t vote in midterm elections.”  He thinks the only important elections are the ones with candidates for president at the top of the ticket.

Sadly, that voter is not alone. He is in large Tar Heel company. In 2010, with no presidential election, only 39.8 percent, or 2.7 million people, voted in North Carolina.

That number was down dramatically from the 4.3 million North Carolinians who voted in 2008 (66 percent turnout), to help put Barack Obama in the White House.    

Do the math. In 2010, the last midterm election, 1.6 million fewer people voted in North Carolina than in 2008. Those non-voters are as many people who live in our state’s four largest cities – Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, and Durham, combined.

One-point-six million people stayed home on Election Day. Why? Did they have something more important to do?

More likely, just like the man on our canvass route, they thought their vote doesn’t really matter and matters even less in non-presidential elections.    

What do you say to people like that?

One response is to look at history. There are quite a few extremely close elections, such as in Alaska in 2008 when a state representative won by one vote.

Mass. Governor Marcus Morton

Close elections in U.S. history date back to a two-vote margin in the 1839 Massachusetts gubernatorial election and continue to today.

There are even more close calls in primaries and caucuses, including Mitt Romney’s eight-vote win over Rick Santorum in the 2012 Iowa Caucuses, corrected days later with Santorum’s 34-vote win.

Another response to these voting naysayers is to look at what happens after elections. As NC State Rep. Tricia Cotham (D – Mecklenburg) says, “Elections have consequences.”

In the 2010 North Carolina midterm election, Republicans took control of the General Assembly. Two years later, Republican James McCrory became governor.

Here are just a few consequences of those two elections, notably the midterm election in 2010 that gave Republicans control of the statehouse.

• Republicans dramatically reduced funding for public education. In a state that used to be known for its commitment to public education, in less than six years state funding per student dropped $653.
• Republicans eliminated critical safety net programs. North Carolina is one of 15 states that refused Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). According to a study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute, rejecting Medicaid will cost North Carolina $51 billion in lost federal funds as well as thousands of jobs over the next ten years. 
• Republicans abolished the Earned Income Tax Credit, which provides crucial support to working mothers and families, and they ended long-term unemployment benefits. That’s called kicking them when they’re down. 
• And, Republicans made radical changes to voting rights to make it even more challenging to vote (and targeting the poor and disadvantaged, those more likely to vote for Democratic candidates).

Would the story be different if those 1.6 million people had gone to the polls in 2010?

I think so. Voting matters.

Elections have consequences. Especially now in North Carolina with so many changes that negatively affect women, children, the unemployed and under-employed, minorities, the disabled, and more.

Our citizens are not getting a fair shake, while corporations are getting a big break. It’s not right. We North Carolina voters must create better consequences this first Tuesday in November.

What do you think?

Note:  For voting information, check out the 2014 North Carolina Voter Guide…and for more on the 2010 election, here’s some real interesting reading.