Locals work to get out the vote
Event aimed at increasing more participation in county’s underutilized precincts ahead of election
Sunday’s rain did not dampen the enthusiasm of Warren residents attending a voter participation and registration event held at Warren Lincoln High School.
First-time voter Wendy MurfeySmith is a Democrat and her husband is a Republican. In the past they have not voted because they believed they would cancel out each other’s vote. This year, the couple supports the same presidential candidate.
“This year, we both decided that Joe Biden would be a better choice for our family,” said Murfey-Smith. “So we are going to the polls and we are all going to vote this year. We are a racially mixed family; I’m white, my husband is black and our children are biracial and we feel with what has been going on lately that we need to be a voice in our city.”
Warren council woman Angela Rog ensues and State Rep. Lori Stone hosted the event along with Democratic Black Caucus of Ma comb County President Joel Rutherford and Macomb County Clerk Fred Miller, who had the mobile clerk’s office on hand to register voters.
“This is one of themost important elections of our lifetime and we want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to vote and has access in their backyard to be able to register to vote and
participate in our beautiful democracy,” said Rogensues. “If we don’t have opportunities for folks to participate, we will experience lower voter turnout and potentially voter suppression and we want to make sure everyone has access and opportunity.”
Pre-event canvassing in the neighborhoods near Nine Mile Road and Van Dyke Avenue targeted voting precincts 8 and 12, which typically have the lowest voter turnout inMacomb County, according to Miller. Rogensues saidmore than 1,900 fliers promoting voter registration were given out in those two precincts. In addition, precincts 10 and 18 have historically low voter turnout. All four are located inWarren, south of 10 Mile Road.
“The idea is to get people registered because these areas just have had such low voter turnout,” said Rutherford. “It is also trying to make people understand that if you do not vote, your voices are not going to be heard. The idea is to give people and opportunity.”
Murfey-Smith lives next to Lincoln High School and found out about the event from a flier left on her door. Other residents, like Lee Holcomb, saw the “register to vote here” sign on Nine Mile and decided to see what was going on.
“I never voted before in my life and I am 62 years old,” said Holcomb. “I don’t like Trump so I want to vote and get him out of office.”
Many residents said they did not knowtheywould be able to vote for other offices besides that of the President of the United States. Murfey-Smith said she has worked to educate herself about all of the candidates for the various offices and says she has learned a tremendous amount about the voting process and the importance of voting.
“When you have an election for the county clerk, county prosecutor and county treasurer, they have a much larger impact on your day-to-day life than even the president does or even a senator does,” said Rutherford. “That is the education that is really needed.”
Miller says the ability for anyone to vote via absentee ballot has not only made it easier for people to cast their vote, but to research the candidates as well. He explained to new voters at Sunday’s event that there are three parts to the ballot; partisan, non-partisan and proposals. He reminded people to make sure to check the back of their ballot to ensure they are voting in all three areas.
“It is one of the advantages of absentee voting that you can get the ballot mailed to you and have time to research the candidates,” saidMiller. “You can have a cup of coffee, think it through, and make a careful decision.
“We have always thought of Election Day as one, action-packed day, but it is, in fact, now a window of action because anyone can vote absentee and we want to make sure people take the first step in getting registered to vote.”
Rogensues said residents may not know where their polling location is located or how to obtain an absentee ballot and believes it is important to bring voter registration services into the neighborhoods to make it easy for people to participate. The south side of Warren, she said, tends to have a lower socio-economic level than other parts of the city which translates to less transportation resources and possibly limited online access.
“Many, many folks were not brought up voting,” said Rogensues. “If your parents did not take you to the polls, if no one is telling you and educating you about it, you might not know what to do. Andmany times, people are afraid to ask for help. So I think it is really, really important that we make it as easy as possible as elected officials and community leaders that we make it as easy as possible to access democracy and exercise their rights.”