Even in Massachusetts
Dear Leading Ladies,
Super Tuesday is over and now our attention is focused on the November elections. The dye is firmly cast and the race will all but surely be between former president Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden. Polls show the race as close; pundits are floating various theories about the outcome.
Does it matter how Massachusetts residents vote or if they even go to the polls, given that our state is true blue?
Who cares?
“It's always important to vote whether we believe the individual act is going to sway an election or not,” said Peter Ubertaccio, vice president of academic affairs and professor of political science at Stonehill College, quoted on WGBH. He believes that showing up at the polls helps keep us “civically fit.”
Marisol Santiago, policy and organizing director of MassVOTE, also speaking to WGBH, said, “We want folks to be empowered voters. We want them to be educated and participating fully in democracy.” Yet she also acknowledges that many are kept from the polls because their status as immigrants and felons, for example, does not allow them to vote. She looks forward to those eligibility rules changing.
So we should vote even though the outcome will be the same, just because it’s good practice? That answer feels a little squishy. It may be true, but it’s a bit of a hard sell. What goes down more easily is the truth that our state and local elections need our votes to determine important outcomes about what is taught in our schools, by whom and with what; how our infrastructure is maintained and prepared for the future; how our elderly and disabled are cared for; what is done about housing and feeding those in our community.
Showing our best side
As for the presidential race, we should vote in that election, not because our votes in Massachusetts will determine the outcome, but because our statistics need to be included in the overall picture of who constitutes America. If too many of us stay home, the profile of Americans changes. We can’t let that happen. We have to be sure we are counted, wherever we stand. And to show that we care about our flawed democracy and its needs.
Building good habits
We also need to set examples and habits for the young people in our lives. They may not ultimately live in a state as skewed towards one party as ours. We owe it to them to teach by example and offer them some education about civic engagement and activity.
Voters who do not like the candidates running from either the Democratic or Republican parties always have the option to vote for a write-in candidate if there is one. Others can vote “no preference” in the November election, though they need to consider the ramifications and message of such a vote.
Voting is really the low hanging fruit of civic engagement.
First step: register to vote.
Second step: find out something about who is running for office.
Third step: learn about what positions and programs are on the line.
Fourth step: vote for the people who are going to do something about what you care about.
As we know, it doesn’t always work this way. And sometimes that’s okay. A potential voter might find out something about a candidate first that they do or don’t like and makes them decide to vote for or against that candidate. The information may encourage them to register and to vote. That works.
Support mandatory voting, too
Too often, though, potential voters may be insufficiently informed, whether or not they are registered and vote. What can and should we do about them?
One strategy favored by some in Massachusetts suggests copying what is done in Australia and some other countries – require voting, with a fine on those who disobey. The evidence shows that there are few scofflaws when voting is legally demanded and the public insists on better civic education in schools to prepare youth to participate in the democratic process.
So, when folks tell you they aren’t going to vote in November because it doesn’t really matter or Biden is too old or Trump is too whatever, remind them that their vote may not change the outcome but it does influence their children as well as the profile of our electorate.
We should all want to be in the picture.
And, yes, Leading Ladies will probably be harping on the importance of voting for the next few months. We hope to make our pitches interesting and informative!
Best,
Therese (she/her/hers)
Judy (she/her/hers)
Didi (she/her/hers)
Leading Ladies Executive Team