Love or loathe Trump, your vote is your voice, so make it count
If ever there was a time to seriously prepare to participate in the voting process, that time is now.
Not since the volatile days of the Civil Rights Movement, when the quest to extend voting to all American citizens produced barriers and bloodshed, have we witnessed such divisiveness in our state and national politics.
The anguish that many Americans are feeling about the intolerant and inhumane direction that President Donald Trump is taking the country is only partially countered by the defiance expressed by his supporters who insist he can do no wrong.
The political arguments and counter-arguments taking place through traditional media, social media, at coffee houses and work places across America are getting us nowhere.
For the most part, minds are made up. You either like what Trump is doing or you detest it. And the only way to make a definitive and meaningful statement about what we want to be as a nation is at the ballot box.
So here’s my fervent pitch. Everyone who is eligible should start today making plans to vote in the upcoming elections.
In Shelby County, that means the Aug. 2 county general election and the state and federal primaries.
That is followed by the Nov. 6 general election nationwide, commonly known as the midterm election, for the entire 435-member U.S. House, 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate and a host of gubernatorial and state legislatives seats around the country.
In the pivotal Aug. 2 balloting, Shelby County voters will select a new mayor, a new sheriff, 13 county commissioners and various other clerks and officeholders.
Then in November, there are open seats for governor and the U.S. Senate, along with all nine U.S. House seats in Tennessee. The deadline to register for the August election is July 3.
Four years ago, the county had a 27 percent turnout for the August election, a depressingly low number mostly caused by the fact that there were few open seats on the ballot. Incumbents, including county Mayor Mark Luttrell, Gov. Bill Haslam and Sen. Lamar Alexander, were all headed to convincing victories, so most voters decided, why bother?
This year, the stakes are much higher. And 27 percent turnout is unaccept-
able.
The voting-age population in Shelby County is about 700,000, according to 2017 U.S. Census estimates. And the county election commission website shows the number of active registered voters, as of this month, at 504,272.
It will be an absolute shame if fewer than 200,000 of those registered voters participant in August, and fewer than 250,000 show up in November.
My plea is not about helping a certain political party. It is about a civic responsibility to give voice to the direction that a majority of Shelby County residents and a majority of Americans want us to follow.
Efforts to stifle voting – through requiring selective photo IDs or by purging the rolls of those who have not participated in the last two general elections – must not be a deterrent.
Voting sends a far better message than an angry Facebook post. So if you agree with the way the current administration is governing, and you want to see more like-minded people in Congress who will support his agenda, then vote them in.
But if you are disgusted with where we are as a nation and want to see more checks and balances on this presidency, then by all means show up and vote the other way.
The choices up and down the ballot are clear. And staying home is not an option. America needs your voice like never before.
Otis Sanford holds the Hardin Chair of Excellence in Journalism and Strategic Media at the University of Memphis. Contact him at 901-678-3669 or at o.sanford@memphis.edu. Follow him on Twitter @otissanford and watch his commentaries on WATN Local 24 News weekdays at 5 p.m.