Voter turnout is fundamental to a healthy democracy.
Low turnout has traditionally been attributed to political disengagement and the belief that voting for one candidate or party will do little to alter public policy.
Voter turnout in the U.S. is much lower than most established democracies around the world, and without the attachment of a presidential election, midterm elections bring in lesser voter turnout than its predecessor. However, midterm elections are just as important.
In the 2016 presidential election an estimated 58 percent of eligible voters actually voted. Comparatively, in the 2014, only 36 percent of voters participated in the midterm election cycle. The 2014 voter participation rate was the lowest in 70 years.
Midterm elections are important because they determine local candidates such as the small claims courts judge all the way to state representatives and senators. These candidates will serve you and represent you until the next cycle and hold leaders in Washington responsible.
Bernard Fraga, a political science professor at Indiana University who specializes in research of American elections, has examined voter behavior in elections and what causes the rise and fall in voter registration throughout American history.
“The biggest issue is that many people that are eligible to vote are not registered to vote and are not informed on how they can register,” said Fraga. “Getting certain demographics such as minorities and younger people registered would boost participation.”
Getting people registered seems simple enough but it takes more than asking people to register to get voters registered to participate. Investing in the community is a big start to the process.
“To get more people registered many campaigns and organizations are investing their money in efforts in groups who traditionally don’t participate in elections traditionally such as African-Americans and young people to help bolster involvement,” Fraga said.
President Donald Trump’s election spurred an increase in activism in minority communities, but the activism must also translate to results in the voting booth.
“With the election of President Trump you have seen the rise of activism from many groups, but the most important step is getting all of the people who are protesting and speaking on these issue to the voting polls in November where they can make a true difference,” Fraga said.
Fraga also acknowledges that there are factors such as lack of early polling sites and identification laws that deter citizens from registering and going out and voting. Marion County added early voting sites due to citizen action.
“Marion County recently lost a lawsuit to Common Cause Indiana and the NAACP because they only had one early voting site. African-Americans are the biggest group of early voters and Marion County has the highest African-American population in the state with only one early site. Other surrounding counties such as Hamilton and Hendricks have multiple sites, this is a form of voter suppression,” Fraga said.
Voter suppression is a strategy to influence the outcome of an election by discouraging or preventing specific groups of people from voting and is a common tactic in America that actually dates back to the end of slavery.
“Indiana is one of the few states left with strict voter identification laws that were put in place to keep minorities and underrepresented groups from voting,” said Fraga.
The voter identification law in Indiana requires that the voter registration card and state issued photo I.D. match. This can be difficult for new state residents or people new to the voting process to figure out.
Peter Luster of the Indy Democrats group shares similar ideas with Fraga on the importance of getting out into the community and getting involved to get people informed on the importance of voting in the midterms and how to be prepared for November.
“We currently are having aggressive voter registration throughout Marion county to make sure we can get as many people voting this fall as possible because this election is just as important as the presidential one every four years,” said Luster. “Our organization has found that door-to-door interaction in the community is the most effective way to get people involved in voting. In-person interaction gets people excited and makes them feel more empowered to vote.”
Robert Johnson is a longtime volunteer on election day, working the polls at Bridgeport Elementary School in Wayne Township for the past 12 years. Johnson is passionate about what voting and democracy represents.
“There’s nothing more important than voting and having your voice heard on Election Day,” Johnson said. “People have fought in this country and outside of this country for our right to vote and to not be registered or to not participate at all is selfish.”
Contact Dontre Graves at 317-762-7848.
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