A special election for State Representative was held yesterday here in northwest Florida. Was the dismal turnout indicative of something more than lousy campaigning?
The low voter turnout in this election surprised me. In my precinct (97), my vote was number 133, and this was at 5:20 pm. ???
Why so low? Election burnout? Uninterested electorate? A generic campaign on both sides? Nothing seemed to generate any excitement? Knowing nothing about either candidate prior to this special election, the pirating of the Campbell’s soup logo turned me off all by itself.
There’s nothing more dangerous than an uninterested, unmotivated electorate like this. It opens the door for a well organized group to show up and ‘take’ an election from 80+ percent of an electorate that sits on its own hands.
Can’t make a better case for the desperate need for civics education, in schools for our kids, and in the media.
Two hurdles, teachers unions who have their own agenda, and most of the media which has an unhealthy synergy with them. There is the place to begin to fix this problem.
