Topic: voter apathy

Voter Apathy: Is it possible in November??

August 25, 2008 |

The August 7th Primary and State Election showed the power of the individual voter. With less than twelve percent of registered voters participating, the course of representative government was set for the next four years. By not voting, that other 88 percent of voters surrendered their rights and actually allowed a small minority to determine their lives. Hope they like the outcome these voters have and will continue to impact upon them.

11.86. Look at that number again. Eleven-point eighty-six. Out of one hundred percent, it is only slightly more than ten percent. And yet it is just a hair less than a full twelve percent. Not even twelve percent of Montgomery County’s registered voters participated in the August 7th ballot! Not even twelve percent, people! Even with the convenience of early voting, and mail-in balloting for the elderly and infirm, not even one-quarter of eligible voters exercised their freedom and their responsibility to determine the course of their elected government.

Just what can explain this low voter interest in elections? The November ballot will determine the composition of the City Council for the next two years of Mayor Johnny Piper’s term and beyond. The course of redevelopment, planned urban growth (or the lack thereof), recreation amenities and city services, greenspace provisions, police and fire department personnel hiring, revitalization of neglected or rundown neighborhoods, installing red-light traffic cameras, improving our quality of life, all are issues likely to come before local government. The electorate must find the will to engage itself at levels above a repulsive twelve percent. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Events, News, Opinion, Politics | 3 Comments

Voter apathy reigns in Montgomery County as primary draws a mere 11.86% turnout

August 8, 2008 |

I have been covering elections since 1968, back when I was too young to vote but old enough to be a journalist covering the elections. Just like the soldiers old enough to ship to Vietnam but not old enough to legally vote against that war.

I’ve only missed two elections in my voting life, and as a writer I’ve covered 30 years worth of voting ups and downs. I have painstakingly worked to implant the importance of voting to my daughter, my grandchildren (two of whom are now old enough to vote), and anyone who can and should be registered to vote. That’s why I found myself upset and disturbed at the end of the day, Thursday, August 7. Primary day. A day of another kind of infamy: a day of voter apathy. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Events, News, Opinion, Politics | 3 Comments

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