Studies across the board solidify the trend: voting in midterm elections just isn’t very high on the priority list of the general public. So what’s the incentive for city officials to actually listen to the general public if the public isn‘t voting?
Presidential elections usually have higher turnouts, mostly because of the publicity and advertisement that leads up to the event, sometimes more than a year before the election happens. Even then, only about 45 to 60 percent of registered voters in Allen County vote in these elections. Midterm elections draw between 16 and 20 percent.
Voting for the president is understandably a big deal – that person will be running the country for the next four years. But what about voting for that mayor or the city council members who make the laws that govern the city you live in – doesn’t that hit closer to home?
While the historical nature of the 2008 presidential election saw a large increase in the number of young, first-time and college age voters, most elections don’t see this kind of input from younger generations. We get the reputation of being too self-absorbed and busy to take an interest in the political arena. But we have a quickly approaching opportunity to change that.
With all the activism now taking place around the country, it’s obvious that American citizens want change. And it starts in local ballot boxes in cities and towns where voters can have a direct impact. The mayor of Fort Wayne is responsible for overseeing and appointing committee members for nearly 40 different committees that deal with city parks, infrastructure, community development and allocation of public funds.
Those parks, roads and funds used for community projects belong to the people who make up the city of Fort Wayne, which means more than 1 in every 5 of those people should be out there voting for the people who get to decide how all of it is governed.
For those who are registered to vote, the first step is complete. For those who’ve never voted or never known where to start, Indianavoters.com can give you all the registration information you need. Most candidates have websites dedicated to their campaigns, so finding out about the candidate’s platforms isn’t hard either.
The only step that remains is getting out to the polls on Nov 8 and showing Fort Wayne’s candidates that IPFW students aren’t completely apathetic to civic responsibility, and that we want a say in how this city is run in the future.
