Comments on: Voter apathy reigns in Montgomery County as primary draws a mere 11.86% turnout http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2008/08/08/voter-apathy-reigns-in-montgomery-county-as-primary-draws-a-mere-1186-turnout/ The voice of Clarksville, Tennessee Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:52:43 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: votechange http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2008/08/08/voter-apathy-reigns-in-montgomery-county-as-primary-draws-a-mere-1186-turnout/comment-page-1/#comment-9900 votechange Sun, 10 Aug 2008 23:23:14 +0000 http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/?p=7232#comment-9900 Bravo, Christine! I agree with you! Excellent article! We need more of that kind of passion from our journalists when it comes to our rights as citizens. So many before us had to fight and even died for the right to vote, that it hardly seems right for us today to act like spoiled children who are given everything they want but care nothing about the sacrifices others had to make for them. Our rights are being ignored, tossed aside, and even trampled on, but, like a kid with too many toys, we just don't care. There's another thing that really bothers me about this whole election thing. ELECTRONIC VOTING!! 93 of 95 TN. counties have them!! Most people don't even know how fundamentally wrong that is! But then, there's no one to tell us. Did everybody just fall asleep for the last eight years? We haven't fixed any thing! Where is the outrage? Why haven't the people of TN. demanded paper ballots? Why aren't the media explaining to the people of TN exactly what this means and what their rights are as citizens to challenge any numbers and demand that every vote counts? By the way, how can we be so sure that only 11% of the registered voters showed up? Uh...Because they told us so that's why! But did any body bother to see if even THAT was accurate? Where are the citizens and the investigative journalists who, in the past, would've checked and re-checked the numbers, reported voting irregularities, worked side by side into the night until they got it right? I guess you got it right when you said, "we are sleeping in our self-centered cocoons"! "Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it." Sadly, we definitely will. Christine, you KNOW our generation would NEVER have allowed this to happen!! Sure, I know, Tennessee is going to have paper ballots- yeah! by 2010!! Kurita just happened to be at those meetings when they voted to do nothing on this. According to the minutes of that meeting, TN. already has been given the money to buy new voting machines! (I think it's 35 million dollars! Help America Vote Act funds.) However, they decided to wait awhile to see what kind of machines they are supposed to by! I think it was Kurita who wanted to know was the money in the bank? And, if so, was it gaining interest? I believe they last met in May or June of 2008 and voted to do absolutely nothing until 2009 or 2010! How convenient. Keep up the good work, Christine! Maybe your article and this comment may help stir some sleeping giants! Bravo, Christine! I agree with you! Excellent article! We need more of that kind of passion from our journalists when it comes to our rights as citizens.

So many before us had to fight and even died for the right to vote, that it hardly seems right for us today to act like spoiled children who are given everything they want but care nothing about the sacrifices others had to make for them.

Our rights are being ignored, tossed aside, and even trampled on, but, like a kid with too many toys, we just don’t care.

There’s another thing that really bothers me about this whole election thing. ELECTRONIC VOTING!!
93 of 95 TN. counties have them!! Most people don’t even know how fundamentally wrong that is!
But then, there’s no one to tell us.

Did everybody just fall asleep for the last eight years? We haven’t fixed any thing! Where is the outrage? Why haven’t the people of TN. demanded paper ballots? Why aren’t the media explaining to the people of TN exactly what this means and what their rights are as citizens to challenge any numbers and demand that every vote counts?

By the way, how can we be so sure that only 11% of the registered voters showed up? Uh…Because they told us so that’s why! But did any body bother to see if even THAT was accurate?

Where are the citizens and the investigative journalists who, in the past, would’ve checked and re-checked the numbers, reported voting irregularities, worked side by side into the night until they got it right?

I guess you got it right when you said, “we are sleeping in our self-centered cocoons”!
“Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.” Sadly, we definitely will.

Christine, you KNOW our generation would NEVER have allowed this to happen!!

Sure, I know, Tennessee is going to have paper ballots- yeah! by 2010!!

Kurita just happened to be at those meetings when they voted to do nothing on this. According to the minutes of that meeting, TN. already has been given the money to buy new voting machines! (I think it’s 35 million dollars! Help America Vote Act funds.)
However, they decided to wait awhile to see what kind of machines they are supposed to by!

I think it was Kurita who wanted to know was the money in the bank? And, if so, was it gaining interest?
I believe they last met in May or June of 2008 and voted to do absolutely nothing until 2009 or 2010!
How convenient.

Keep up the good work, Christine!
Maybe your article and this comment may help stir some sleeping giants!

]]> By: Christine Anne Piesyk http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2008/08/08/voter-apathy-reigns-in-montgomery-county-as-primary-draws-a-mere-1186-turnout/comment-page-1/#comment-9878 Christine Anne Piesyk Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:03:00 +0000 http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/?p=7232#comment-9878 I do not say that the end result would have been different, only that given the closeness of the race, stronger turnout might have shifted the balance. 19 votes is not huge gap. The win/lose column shifted several times as the votes were tallied. 11.86% is a disgraceful turnout. The appalling part of this story is that lack of voter turnout, a collective statement of voter apathy that, given the photo finish, awards a State Senate seat for a mere 6% of the city's vote. Six percent claim victory, the other near 6% suffer defeat, and the remaining 88% have no valid claim to any representation since they did not participate in the process. I do not say that the end result would have been different, only that given the closeness of the race, stronger turnout might have shifted the balance. 19 votes is not huge gap. The win/lose column shifted several times as the votes were tallied. 11.86% is a disgraceful turnout.

The appalling part of this story is that lack of voter turnout, a collective statement of voter apathy that, given the photo finish, awards a State Senate seat for a mere 6% of the city’s vote.

Six percent claim victory, the other near 6% suffer defeat, and the remaining 88% have no valid claim to any representation since they did not participate in the process.

]]> By: You Mean If Someone Other Than The Partisan Of the Partisan Showed Up? : Post Politics: Political News and Views in Tennessee http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2008/08/08/voter-apathy-reigns-in-montgomery-county-as-primary-draws-a-mere-1186-turnout/comment-page-1/#comment-9877 You Mean If Someone Other Than The Partisan Of the Partisan Showed Up? : Post Politics: Political News and Views in Tennessee Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:49:59 +0000 http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/?p=7232#comment-9877 [...] Christine Anne Piesyk bemoans the turnout in Montogemery’s primary election day and implies that the squeaker primary between Rosalind Kurita and Tim Barnes would have been different had there been more of an impressive display of civic engagement. [...] [...] Christine Anne Piesyk bemoans the turnout in Montogemery’s primary election day and implies that the squeaker primary between Rosalind Kurita and Tim Barnes would have been different had there been more of an impressive display of civic engagement. [...]

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