It’s Primary Election Day in West Virginia. Voters are choosing their nominees for local, state and federal offices for the Republican and Democratic Parties for the November General Election.
Additionally, in most counties, voters will choose members of local school boards in non-partisan elections, and some counties will have local issues on the ballot, such as school levies.
Perhaps you could not blame West Virginia voters if they are a little burned out on elections. Today’s primary makes the sixth election since the 2010 primary, thanks to special primaries and elections to fill vacancies for U.S. Senator and Governor, following the death of U.S. Senator Robert Byrd.
The peculiar circumstances put West Virginia in a state of nearly constant campaign mode for the last two years. Politics can be great sport, but we can grow weary of the campaign signs, commercials and promises.
Yet, we cannot allow the frequency to diminish the importance.
Of course it matters who is nominated and ultimately elected. It’s often said that we get the government we deserve. If true, then we, the voters, bear a fundamental responsibility for the quality of leadership that we get.
Hugo Black, the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice, said, “No right is more precious in a free country than that of having a voice in the election of those who make the laws.”
The counter arguments for apathy are that “my vote doesn’t matter,” suggesting that either one vote doesn’t make a difference or that somehow all politicians are the same.
As to the latter, they are not. True, they may, as a whole, have a greater sense of self-importance, but their views are as varied as the constituents they represent.
On the issue of the significance of a single vote, consider the Bush-Gore race in 2000 when the margin of victory in five states was less than one-half of one percent. In Florida, Bush’s edge in the popular vote was .00092 percent.
Personally, I always get a thrill out of voting. I leave the polls feeling as though I’ve fulfilled a worthy civic responsibility. I’m tempted to call candidates I voted for to tell them so, as if my vote has created some bond between us (For the record, I don’t).
Still, it means something to say, through your vote, “I’m with you.” Politicians, who take their responsibilities seriously, often talk about feeling humbled by the support they receive.
Potential voters, disillusioned by politics or disgusted by politicians, need to hear the higher calling. Candidates come and go, promises are kept and broken, campaign ads distort the truth, but ultimately elections are about freedom and democracy.
The foundation of democracy is the consent of the governed. It’s only by the blessing of the people through their willing participation in elections that the power accorded government is legitimate and moral.