All planners, agendas, calendars should have the date, April 19, circled, starred, highlighted. After all, it’s the day every good citizen, and Facebook news feed, has been waiting for: the New York Presidential Primary Election. Will it be Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton as the democratic presidential candidate? Could all the Donald Trump supporters prevail? We hope not. That’s why it’s so important to vote in the primary.
The 2012 Presidential Primary Election, nationwide, saw the lowest voter turnout in primary history. It’s possible that the reason was President Barack Obama was up for reelection and, maybe, the election felt arbitrary for some. But it’s also possible that citizens are losing interest in voting.
According to bipartisanpolicy.org, “Average voter turnout in the 2012 statewide primaries — for president, governor and U.S. Senate — slumped to the lowest level since presidential primaries proliferated in 1972.”
The website went on to say that nationwide, only 17.3 percent of eligible citizens decided to do their civic duty and vote in the 41 states that held primaries for both parties.
“In all,” continued the article, “32,909,443 citizens voted out of an eligible citizen electorate for the states which held statewide primaries (five did not) of 207,581,000.”
That means that nearly 175 million people who could have voted, didn’t.
What will the 175 million people say if Trump wins the republican nomination and becomes the GOP presidential candidate? Will their social media posts hypocritically read “I’m moving to Canada,” even though they could have done something to stop it but chose not to?
Unfortunately, New York has the earliest change-of-party deadline of all the states that have closed primaries. So, if you’re not a democrat or a republican and you didn’t submit your paperwork last October, you can’t vote in the primaries. However, that doesn’t mean you should sit back and do nothing. Urge friends, family, enemies to vote!
Our country could be in real trouble here. Looking at the candidates right now, it’s pretty disheartening. Trump and Clinton as frontrunners, to some, feels like picking between bad and worse. But, don’t forget: The people have the power to put someone else, like, let’s say, Sanders, in the general election.
One vote doesn’t seem like it will make a difference. And statistically, it won’t. But if one voter compels his or her friends and family to also vote, and they do the same, all of a sudden that one vote could turn into thousands. Don’t let this election become another record low. We’re better than that, and we just can’t afford to risk it.
The Leader is not concerned with who you vote for (although, not voting for Trump would be ideal). We do, however, want to make sure that voting doesn’t become a forgotten right. People in other countries would, and are, dying for the right to vote. You have it; so use it. For the love of America, vote in the primary.