Why you need to pay attention to this 2019 election
August brings us the oppressive heat and the occasional thunderstorm that mark the waning of our summer. It recalls the first stirrings of kids getting ready for, and bemoaning, the beginning of school, the last hurrah of Labor Day, and the first sighs of a nice cool fall night. We will slip through the rushed days of September and then look surprised when Halloween decorations magically appear on the store shelves. Then those pesky yard signs show up all around the neighborhoods decrying “Vote for Me,” “Re-elect Me,” “We Are the Best” and so on. Yes, election season will be upon us before you know it, and while other holidays and days of note through out the year may be fun, holy or important, Election Day is often overlooked, yet it deserves your full attention and participation.
2019 is an election year without a vote for president, senator, congressperson, governor or even state officials. As a result, these “off-year” elections usually result in very poor voter turnout. They do not garner a great deal of space in our attention span. Yet, this election is actually very important to you, from how your taxes are spent, how your children are educated, how our justice system will work for you, whether your local services are adequate to meet your needs, whether your roads get paved, how we jail our fellow citizens and to how much development and construction versus open, green space you are willing to have.
This election cycle will determine who will represent you on County Council, your school board, your local municipal councils and your district and municipal judges. Right now, you are probably falling off your chair, realizing how important this election is. Well, most likely you might be saying, really, I don’t know what County Council does, will never see a judge (hopefully) in my life, I have no say in what the school district does and who are my local council people (we have a local council?)!
So, let’s start where everyone starts, and I am sure you have heard this before. Voting is not only a right, it is a privilege. It is a tradition that started 243 years ago, when we grew tired of being told what to do by a monarch an ocean away. People died to get that right. It has been hard fought for, as in the War of 1812 when our democratic experiment might have been taken back by a king, and World War II, where we fought a most devastating war to fight the very dark and evil forces of tyranny that would have ended our democracy. It has been fought on home battle lines in the Civil War, on our streets for women’s suffrage and during the Civil Rights Movement. In many ways, many people today are still fighting the good fight for the right to vote and have their voice heard. And all around the world, people dream of a day when they can have the power and privilege of the vote. Something that many, if not all, of us take for granted. Okay, I am sure all of that has you ready to march out to the voting booth this November 5th.
But in reality, many people will not vote. Whether it is being unaware that an election is taking place (even with all the ubiquitous yard signs!), a complacency about the status quo, politics burnout, or a belief that one’s vote does not count. On this last point, there is no better place for your vote to count than a local election. Many of these elections this year will be won by less than one hundred votes (especially at the municipal level). Wouldn’t you like to be the one who cast the vote to move the election one way or another? But the best reason to vote is so that you can have the right to complain, the right to yell “throw those bums out”, the right to celebrate or curse the politicians that spend our money! One of the greatest pastimes, other than cheering on the Eagles or Phillies, is to complain about our elected officials. Voting gives complaining extra oomph, one that is well worth the effort!
In the coming months, county, municipal, school board and judicial candidates will be knocking on doors, trying to meet you, trying to get you to vote for them. It does not matter what part of the political spectrum they lie, they all have a passion to serve and represent your community. Enough of a passion to ask perfect strangers to trust in them, to spend the many hours running a campaign, and then to hopefully spend a few years trying to make a difference, with very little to no recognition. All are campaigning to make a difference. Please take the time to learn about them and, on November 5th, stop by your polling place, say high to the folks trying to stuff campaign literature into your hand, and most importantly, step into that booth and cast your vote. Exercise your right to have your voice heard. That ultimately is what makes every single one of us an American.