“I forgot.” “I didn’t have enough time during my lunch break.” “I had to get to the kids’ soccer, band, ballet” or whatever. “There are no big races, nothing of interest to me.” “What does the register of deeds do anyway?”
Those are a few of the statements you might have heard in recent days about why people have not taken the time to vote during the 14-day early-voting period underway now at several locations in the county. As of this writing, fewer than 4,000 Hamilton County voters had cast ballots in the May 1 election.
Robin SmithWhy, out of 193,063 active registered voters (as of Thursday), have so few county voters participated in the critical process of self-determination?
Granted, primaries don’t usually attract the heaviest turnout, unless there are hotly contested races. However, abdicating the privilege of voting is a bit of a head-scratcher. The ability to vote is not a right enjoyed by all adults around the world.
Women in Saudi Arabia couldn’t vote until 2015 despite the nation’s high rank in wealth per capita, according to Yahoo News (just one spot behind the United States). In more than 30 countries, voting is mandatory. But voting should be governed by the values of liberty and freedom, which serve as the foundation of a nation, not some compulsory actions pushed by autocratic actors.