Marilyn Clark: Whatever you believe, make your vote count
Are you pro-life or pro-choice? For gun control or constitutional carry? Pro-vaccines or anti-vaccines? Pull down Confederate monuments or “I don’t care, looks like a nice statue?” Abolish gas tax or leave it so we can have money to fix roads and infrastructure?
Did you know that all this gets decided by your elected representatives? But if the people from only one side of the debate are the ones who voted, then that side’s representative gets to make the decision. So, the more people from both sides of the debate vote, the more likely it is you get someone who will at least listen to your opinion.
There has been a lot of talk recently about the new voting laws and new districts (or old districts left as they were). It may make one wonder, “Why should I bother to vote if it is already decided?”
The thing is, it isn’t already decided; it's not a foregone conclusion. Even if the districts were drawn based on registered voter party affiliation, that can change.
I have changed mine several times, because in Florida, you can only vote in the primary if you are registered to a party. So, I change party affiliation when I want to make sure my candidate — for governor, state legislature, U.S. Congress or other positions — survives long enough to get to the general election.
There is nothing worse than an election where the primary eliminates your favorite candidate and you are left with the choice between two extremes, neither of whom represents your views.
There is also nothing more frustrating when people don’t show up at the polls. For example, less than 20 percent of registered voters showed up during the most recent special election for Jacksonville City Council. There is a similar turnout for other city elections.
These are the representatives who will have the biggest impact on what happens in your neighborhood and less than 1 in 5 registered voters even cast a ballot.
That means when you have 100 demonstrators at city hall wanting a change, less than 20 of those voted for the people who get to make the decision. If you can show up and demonstrate, you need to turn out on Election Day and vote to make that change.
The deadline for the August primary is Monday, July 25; about three weeks from now. So go get registered and if you recently moved, update your information. If you are fed up with the Republicans or the Democrats, go change your party affiliation. If you just turned 18, register to vote for the first time.
Take time to get to know the candidates. Who is running for sheriff, governor, senate, congress or state offices and what are their positions? Ignore the campaign fliers and TV ads, seriously. Those are notorious for putting down the other side by exaggerating the opposing position. Check out candidate websites and read newspaper articles.
Then, either during early voting or on primary day, go vote. During early voting you can go anywhere, in any precinct. On primary election day you will have to go to a specific site for your precinct, but the polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. So go before work, after work or during your lunch hour; whenever you can make time, go vote.
Only you can impact who represents you. So please — show up and make a difference.
Marilyn Clark, retired computer software developer, Jacksonville
This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Marilyn Clark: Whatever you believe, make your vote count
