Opinions

OPINION: Voter turnout numbers are pathetic

September 25, 2014 From The Poughkeepsie Journal

Was Zephyr Techout a victim of low voter turnout?

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The Poughkeepsie Journal mentions a tough topic this week, and we pass it along to our readers because Brooklyn suffers the same issue: pitifully low voter turnout.

The key word is “pitiful.” Low voter turnout is always a concern. But when people win primaries and elections with only 10 percent of the registered voters turning out, AND THOSE REGISTERED VOTERS are themselves a tiny percentage of the populace, that’s pitiful.

While the salaries and expenses of those elected officials are a small percentage of the revenues collected – just like the voters who elect them are a small percentage (and that’s a math problem for another editorial) – it needs to be noted that these elected officials DECIDE how the larger portion of those government revenues are spent. Has the average citizen become so jaded that he or she expects the media to hold these officials accountable, allowing them to sit back and watch the show? What will it take to compel them to register, then go out and vote?

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The primary election season ended with a sad irony: There actually was some intrigue in the Democratic Party gubernatorial race, yet very few people came out to vote.

In fact, the numbers were appalling, with about a paltry 10 percent turnout statewide. Eligible voters of all political stripes must do much better during the general election. And the first step, of course, is to make sure you are registered to vote.

To that end, there is a nationwide, nonpartisan effort afoot to get people to register, and people should take advantage of it. Sept. 23 was deemed “National Voter Registration Day,” with the League of Women Voters and others leading the effort.

Organizers note that National Voter Registration Day is the perfect time to register for the first time or to make sure your information is up to date, particularly if you have moved, etc. Of course, potential voters can use various official websites to get information anytime regarding how to register to vote.

Often, with no presidential race as is the case this year, voter turnout numbers dip considerably, but there is plenty on the line this November, particularly in our area. There are two hotly contested congressional races and a slew of state Senate and Assembly seats up for grabs, in addition to three important statewide referendums. One deals with how political boundaries are reconfigured, the second would allow lawmakers to cut down greatly on the mounds of paper needed to pass legislation and the third would authorize the state to spend $2 billion on school technology.

Voters shouldn’t give up their rights nor abrogate their responsibility to weigh in on the issues.

In the Democratic primary, Fordham Law School professor Zephyr Teachout lost by about 25 percent to incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo, but she beat him in some areas of the state, including in Dutchess and Ulster counties. In the general election, Cuomo is facing a challenge from Republican candidate Rob Astorino, who is serving as Westchester County executive, and Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins.

New York’s voter turnout numbers are typically below the national average and sometimes at or near the bottom. In the long run, the state should give far more serious consideration to innovations that other states have implemented, including scheduling early voting dates and lengthening registration deadlines. But even without such measures, the boards of elections in Dutchess and UIster counties as well as the state Board of Elections have a wealth of information available on their websites, including registration forms, key dates and deadlines, how to file an absentee ballot, etc.

Now is the time to make sure you are registered and ready to vote come November.

For more information, go to: http://nationalvoterregistrationday.org.

–The Poughkeepsie Journal, courtesy of The Associated Press