Elections deserve our votes
Tuesday is election day in Warren County.?Will our citizens flock to the polls in 12 districts and 21 precincts to cast their votes, or will they stay away in droves, as too often happens in local primaries?
Judging from the early voting turnout of some 4800 voters, including absentee voters, it appears likely we will see a total of around 10,000 voters having cast their ballots by the time the polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday night.
If so, that will be roughly a 50 percent turnout of registered voters, high indeed, for local primaries.?That?s good news for those of us who think voter turnout is crucial to the strength of our representative democracy.?
Democrats have an abundance of choices for many local offices.?They will actually elect, along with cross-over voters, the next county executive.
Meanwhile, the local Republican Party has managed to field an array of candidates for six of the 12 county commission districts and one for county clerk.?That?s good news, too.
Competition is vital to the two-party system in Tennessee.?Ideally, of course, all positions in the primary and general elections would be contested.?Then voters would have more choices, and perhaps, more motivation to cast their ballots.
One thing is sure.?It is easier to vote now in this country than it has ever been.?Long gone are the chains that shackled so many from exercising their right to vote.?By constitutional amendments, blacks, women, non-property owners and 18-year-olds have been added to the roll of potential voters. By legislation, opportunities for more convenient voting are also now available.
That said, American citizens still find many reasons, or excuses, not to vote.?For example, 18-24-year-olds continue to lag behind other age groups in not voting.?Many of them tend to think, wrongly in my view, that ?politics? does not affect them.?
The truth is they are affected in many and profound ways by the actions taken by politicians ? from a potential military draft, to prohibitions on underage drinking, to soaring college tuition costs.
The antidote to voter ignorance and apathy is education, early and often.?My experience and research both suggest we need to do more to educate ourselves and our young people on the virtues of participating in our own political system.? That education should start at home.?It should continue, at age-appropriate levels, through primary and secondary schools.?College students, too, regardless of their major, should be required to take at least one course in political science.
The cumulative effect of education could be a much greater awareness that politics is a legitimate field of inquiry and activity ? for the many ? not just the few. In turn, this could lead to greater, more informed voter turnout, and more overall participation in politics, both of which would be healthy for all of us.
Finally, I applaud all who voted early in record numbers the past few days, and I urge my other fellow Warren County citizens to vote on Tuesday.?The stakes are high and our votes do count.
Thomas B. Vaughn is a professor at Motlow College and co-host of the radio show ?Viewpoints,? which airs on 91.3 FM.