Get out the vote

The pundits and commentators herald recent election results as a rejection of the Trumpian hate-mongering and divisiveness. I don’t see it in those terms, nor even as a question of whether our political glass is half full or half empty.

On the contrary, we should hang our heads in shame — shame for a country that spends billions on campaigning and thousands of volunteer hours only to elicit voter turnout of under 50% and an even lower for youth and communities of color, for whom the results are so important.

The New York Times published a piece headlined “Republicans, Fear the Young” by John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, who credits the 18 to 29 age group with shaping results across the country. Really, when this group, which had “the second-highest turnout in midterm elections in almost 30 years,” could only muster 27% to get off their asses to vote?

Other commentators have referenced low turnout in Georgia as a cause of Stacey Abrams’ loss by a larger margin than in her first campaign for governor and wonder if Sen. Raphael Warnock’s re-election campaign, supported nationally, will succeed.

If you don’t participate, don’t complain.