Just the Basics - What’s It All About?

Our last runoff elections on August 10th in Georgia had a turnout of about 10% of registered voters. For Gwinnett County, for example, about 40% of its 676,000 population is registered to vote. Therefore, some races in Gwinnett were decided by about 30,000 people. Probably those of you that read this column are part of that small percentage anyway, but for those who have not voted this year (or ever), I can understand your logic in not going out to vote. 

Sure. Voting does not feed you; nor does it pay the bills. Voting will not improve your GPA or your credit rating. Voting will not get you tickets to your favorite concert or sporting event. And voting will not get you a date (even with a certain political columnist). On top of this, it takes time from your day to get to the polls sometime between 7am and 7pm and cast your ballot. 

So, before writing another summary/critique of political candidates this election year, I thought it would make more sense to share the basics of why, how, when and where you can use the information from this column. 

Why should you vote? 
There is at least a four fold return on investment for each vote. First, your vote is counted in deciding who will represent you in government and make decisions on policies that affect your life every day. Second, political candidates pay most (if not all) attention to people who have voted before. Third, campaign issues primarily reflect the needs of voters, since candidates and elected officials compete for the voters’ attention. Fourth, you exercise your freedom in this democracy to choose your leaders and honor those who sacrificed their lives to give you that freedom. 

How should you vote?
A study by Yale University political scientists, D. Green, A. Gerber, and D. Nickerson, in 2002, showed that voter guides (somewhat like articles from this column) have little effect on voter turnout. Like with anything else, talking to people about relevant topics and issues in their own lives had the most effect on their behavior. 

What non-personal things frustrate you during your day? Whether you are bothered by the traffic light down the street, the taxes on your power bill, or the fear or burdens of unemployment, you have legitimate issues that are relevant in political decision-making. If your politicians are not discussing these issues, they probably do not hear much about these issues or these issues belong to people who do not vote. 

Therefore you must first know what issues matter most to you. 

Second, find out if any political candidates are discussing these issues and what they say about them. 

Third, if no politicians are discussing issues that matter to you, ask them what they would do about the issues most important to you. 

Fourth, tell others about issues that bother you that you want to see changed. Chances are that if it bothers you, it bothers others around you as well. The more people who voice your concern, the more likely it will become an issue for the election.

When and where can you vote?
The Georgia Secretary of State’s website has all the information you will need to register to vote, find out election days and times, where your poll is located, and other useful information. The poll locator will also tell you what district you belong to for local elections: 

http://www.sos.state.ga.us/elections/elections/voter_information/default.htm

As stated on the website, the next election days are September 21st and November 2nd. To find out what candidates are running for office in your district, see http://www.sos.state.ga.us/cgi-bin/QualIndex.asp for the list of candidates and http://www.sos.state.ga.us/elections/ for the candidates who won the primary races.

So, voting will not feed you or pay the bills, etc., but it certainly affects the quality and cost of living you have every day in indirect and direct ways. 

Just think – the total number of people that decided races in some metro-Atlanta counties is less than half the total number of Indian Americans that live in metro-Atlanta. Even though Indian Americans in Atlanta and Georgia are not aggregated in one county, it makes you wonder the influence any one group can have if all its members went out to vote. 

And, as always, I appreciate any feedback on what races or issues you would like to see covered in this column. Please send your feedback to contact@nripulse.com.

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