Voting was once a valued civic duty in American politics. Our democracy is built around opportunities that allow its citizens a voice in the structures that govern society. Voting is a way to make change; it’s our way to let the government know what we think would help our society.
A lot of people don’t see it that way. Many don’t think that their vote matters. Scholars have noted that scandalous and deceptive actions by government officials has added to the current widespread disinterest in political participation, and more specifically, voting. Nowadays, some would even argue that voting is an inconvenience. At some point, however, we need to realize that the power of voting is one that is well overlooked in our community.
Roughly 170,000 Santa Barbara County residents turned out to vote in the presidential election in 2016. That number was nearly halved this past June, as only 92,919 ballots were cast in the county’s primary. Our community has a population of around 450,000, which means that only about one fifth of our population participated in the most recent election. If it takes a mere 51 percent of the voter pool to pass a measure or elect an official, then this leaves 10 percent of our community making the decisions that 100 percent of us are accountable for.
First off, why are so many people only interested in the presidential election? The power of the Electoral College leaves me to perceive a presidential election as more of a glorified opinion poll. Why don’t we focus on the elections for governor or state Assembly as much? Local politics affect our daily lives more than anything, and these elections are the ones that we do have a say in. And why would someone think that voting doesn’t matter? Less than half of the eligible voters in this county voted in the last election. Come November, that missing half carries the potential to change every outcome of every item on the ballot.
Political participation, and voting in particular, needs to be resurrected into American culture. The importance of this civic duty should be emphasized more than it is within our education system. We need to address the issues in our community by talking about solutions and voting for those with the best and brightest ideas. Voting in any election is voicing your opinion on what matters to you. I want to encourage everyone to find what matters to them the most, and to use our democratic institutions, an extension of our natural rights, to lead the world where you believe it should be headed.
This article appears in Aug 23-30, 2018.
