Take the time to vote
by Kai Hagen
October 27, 2005
All politics is local.
OK, perhaps not.
But even if you don’t agree with that familiar adage, it’s easy to understand how it became common wisdom.
The key is the reference to politics. The idea is not that all policy is local, or that all issues are local, or that all values are local.
Rather, the emphasis on politics makes it a description of sound campaign strategy.
Woe to the candidate who forgets that many, if not most, voters will regard any issue in terms of how it affects them, personally and directly, at the most local level.
Global economics, foreign policy, international trade, energy and the environment, whatever. The heat of a political contest will boil the message down to how it affects you, your family, your job, and, perhaps, your community.
In fact, it could be said that if all politics is local, all politics is also short term.
Again, not entirely so, but true enough to pass for effective campaign strategy. Certainly, you won’t find many campaign managers and consultants encouraging their candidates to concentrate on the big picture or the long term.
I may not be glad for that, but I get it.
What I don’t get, though, is why that doesn’t appear to translate to voter participation in local campaigns and a higher turnout in local elections?
The evidence is widespread, consistent and overwhelming.
The bigger the election — the less local it is — the more people vote. And when there are national, statewide and local elections at the same time, fewer and fewer people vote as they move down the ballot to the local candidates.
We need only look to the primary election in Frederick last month.
Three-fourths of the voters who were eligible to vote in their party primary didn’t consider it worth the bother. And that’s only including the potential voters who have made the effort to register.
Not impressive. Actually, it’s pathetic.
Low voter turnout isn’t the real problem, though. It’s a reflection of high voter apathy, of a broader, ongoing indifference and disinterest. Not just on election day, but almost all the time.
People who don’t vote have plenty of excuses, of course. One vote won’t change anything. It doesn’t make any difference who wins. Life is too busy, and so on.
It all boils down to the perception that it doesn’t matter. It must. Because if more people paid a little bit more attention, and got a little more involved, they would know that it does matter, and that by paying attention, and getting involved, and voting, they could have a real impact on the issues that affect our lives and the decisions that shape the future of our community.
Experience tells us that more people will show up for the General Election on Tuesday, but a great deal of our neighbors won’t.
If it wasn’t such a common problem, it might be tempting to think part of the reason is that the city of Frederick and the rest of the county have so many residents who haven’t been here long. Or that part of the reason is that so many local residents commute out of the area.
They spend less time here, feel less connected, have less time to spare. But even if that were the reason — and it isn’t — it isn’t a good reason not to pay attention and vote in the community where you pay taxes, where your kids go to school, where you live.
In advance of next week’s election, I’d like to thank everyone who will vote, especially those who have been paying attention and getting involved.
I’d also like to thank Ken Berlin, who is running for alderman, for setting an example for all the folks who haven’t been here a long time, including those who commute down the road.
Ken and his wife Connie moved to Frederick just five years ago. And Ken still commutes to his job in Washington, D.C.
Life is busy. But Ken loves his new home, and he has paid attention, and gotten involved. He knows he can make a difference. In his case, that has meant running for alderman. And, among other things, running for alderman has meant investing countless hours in a campaign to find out what people think and let them know what he thinks, attending meetings and other events, and visiting thousands of homes to discuss the issues with people, one or two at a time.
As Ken says, ‘‘I am an involved citizen.”
Nobody would suggest that we all make that sort of investment. But it seems the least we can do — literally — is read a little about the issues, and the candidates, and get out and vote.
As if it mattered.
Because it does.
WHY I'M VOTING FOR KAI!
Kathleen Constable
Frederick
Frederick County is at a crossroads. As many citizens realize, the current trend in planning is taking us in a disastrous direction. We no longer have the luxury of time to spare. We need a voice on the Board of County Commissioners that will speak clearly for a logical, reasonable approach to our complex problems and issues.
Kai Hagen is that voice of reason. He understands the urgency of developing (and sticking to!) a solid and...