The only time 99,096 residents in Brunswick County are totally equal is at the ballot box.
The Brunswick County Board of Elections reported just 10.1% of the ballots were cast by the 99,096 eligible voters in the 2018 primary elections. In spite of the efforts by the BOE to expand voting hours, locations, early voting, one-stop voting, absentee voting and even Saturday voting in the four satellite locations, only 10.08 eligible voters chose to exercise their equal status.
Democracy is at a crossroads. Which road we choose to travel depends on each of us individually. In any definition of democracy, it is defined as a “system of government with the POWER vested in the PEOPLE who rule directly or indirectly through freely elected representatives”. We, the PEOPLE, wield that POWER by voting. Every election cycle is important.
In the 2016 Presidential election, 46.9% of eligible voters nationally decided to stay home and not vote. There are many reasons why they didn’t vote. But, the fact remains they gave up their equality by not voting. We must never allow that to happen again!
“One man (woman), one vote” is the foundation of our Democracy. If we give that up, we are no longer a Democracy. Gerrymandering and redistricting (regardless of Party), voter suppression, the gender gap, the wage gap, lack of common-sense gun control, racial injustices are just some of the many examples of what will eventually lead to common-place occurrences and a collapse of our Democracy. These are nonpartisan issues… not Democratic not Republican.
But, all is not loss! We can do something about it. We can demand honest representation of the PEOPLE from our elected officials for all their constituents … not just their big donors. And when they choose not to listen to the PEOPLE they are supposed to represent, we can remove them. But, first we have to VOTE!
--Dave Johnson