Palm Coast's inaugural November 9th election was a success, but only partially so. Only half the city's eligible voters turned out and exercised their democratic rights.
If you're thinking that this article is intended to chastise and sermonize about forsaking our right to vote, you're right. I find such a low turnout particularly odious during the same week we celebrated Veteran's Day.
Need I remind anyone what thousands of veterans have fought for over the past 200+ years? Freedom. Democracy. Little things like that.
Strangely enough, Flagler County is perennially right at or near the top of voter turnout among all Florida counties. That's good. But not good enough. When almost as many people who've registered to vote don't as those who do, we've a problem.
Peggy Rae Border, Flagler County Supervisor of Elections, said that 87% of eligible county voters cast ballots in the 1992 general election. Ah, the good ol' days. Do you remember that election? It's the one where Bill Clinton was elected President without securing a majority of the popular vote.
Democracy's cornerstones are participation and majority rule. Obviously, if the preponderance of folks eligible to vote don't, then the intrinsic strength and value of the democratic process is altered. At worst it becomes the will of 'private' interests.
I don't mean 'special' interests as in lobbyists, although the likelihood of that effect occurring increases with low turnout. I mean that segment of the populace which participates. What if they don't share the views of the community at large? What if they decide to have things their way? After all, they're the only ones who took the trouble to spend two minutes at the polls to express their political will.
Although an argument can be made that the results of any election ought to reflect and respect the position of the voters, if the group exercising its democratic right isn't in tune with Joe or Susie six-pack, then the community won't thrive and move ahead as it should.
But all of this is obvious, isn't it? It's been preached for years, hasn't it? And it hasn't made a big difference in voter turnout, has it?
And just when you think you've heard enough from me, don't forget about those who haven't even registered to vote in the first place. I know you've learned this in school, but voter turnout rates represent only that portion of people who registered to vote. Ms. Border estimated that before the National Voter Registration Act, only 80% of all people who could register did. It's better now, she says, due to that Act, but she's noticing declining turnout rates. Making it easier to register doesn't get people to the polls, does it?
Voting is a civic obligation. It's not just a right. It's more. It's like observing traffic lights or not shouting 'fire' in a crowded theater. It's who and what we are as a democratic society. We should no more ignore that duty than failing to report a crime.
How difficult can voting be? How busy are we? Very. I know. I am. You are. So what? When we're sick, we go to a doctor. It means we can't do something else at that moment which we think is really, really critical.
I've voted. I've been to a doctor. Voting's faster -- a lot faster. Sorry, docs, but customer service and prompt assistance obviously don't measure very high on your collective Richter Scales. Some glaciers have formed quicker than I've been served by some physicians.
So what's the point? Vote. If I haven't been clear, what I'm saying is vote. Please vote.
On December 14th, Palm Coast 'finalizes' its slate of city government officials. Won't you, ¬ won't we - all of us - ¬ decide who should carry us into the future. We're the city of the New Century. Nay, the New Millennium. Sounds like heady stuff, doesn't it? Well, it is. Always has been.
Whether it's been 1804, 1960, or 1999, voting has always been one of the most significant things a citizen can do. Please don't tell me it doesn't make a difference. That's like saying it doesn't matter to the Jacksonville Jaguars whether they play before a group of 5,500 partisans or 55,000.
You know better. It works the same way with voting. But voting and democracy ¬ and the lives given by our veterans to ensure we have both ¬ are just a tad more important than a football game played by millionaires, owned by billionaires, and consumed by people who can't really afford the time or money to attend the game.
After all, if a person can't spend two minutes every couple years to vote, how can he or she spend an entire afternoon watching an oblong shape made of dead animal parts bounce unpredictably on a field with painted lines and numbers?
++++
Fred W. Apelquist, III, M.Ed.
Approximately 800 words.
(c) 2000