Slow Clap for Democracy
Tuesday was Election Day for about 40% of the country. It resulted in many firsts for communities that have been marginalized in the past. We saw many young and first-time candidates run and win against incumbents or party establishment favorites.
In Virginia and New Jersey, the state legislative and gubernatorial races have had the most media coverage. While analysts will focus primarily on shifts in party control, a key part of the story is participation.
For everyday people to be advocates for the kitchen table issues that matter most in their community, it requires participation, civic engagement — not just 3 months of the year when there is an election — but every single day. Tuesday demonstrated that more people are stepping up and showing up to advocate for critical issues related to transportation, the economy, healthcare, clean water and air, and safe communities. It deserves a slow clap and here is why:
Initial reports show that turnout was higher in Virginia and New Jersey than in the last two previous off-year election cycles but didn’t set any records. New Jersey and Virginia had higher turnout back in 1993 when the world was a very different place and only a tenth of one percent of the world’s population had access to the internet. In fact 1993’s turnout in New Jersey of 65%, is higher than any presidential election the past 100 years. Virginia’s turnout of 61.1% also lands in the top five best turnout in the past century for presidential elections.
Fast forward to today, where 88% of Americans have access to the internet (and most likely we all saw at least one social media post encouraging us to vote), yet participation lags behind. Yesterday’s turnout looks to be a step in right direction, but over 50% of New Jersey and Virginia voters stayed home. In 2013, New Jersey barely cracked a 40% turnout and Virginia came in at 43 percent. When only two-fifths of the electorate chooses legislators and executives, everyone loses. The ability to hold our elected officials accountable is lost and elected officials will pander to wealthy interests instead of listening to voters.
To breathe life back into democracy we need smart, 21st Century universally accepted reforms that will increase participation and accountability on policymakers to address kitchen table concerns. Automatic voter registration paired with vote by mail in states like Oregon, Washington, and Colorado has proven to increase participation. This reform formula is simple, every eligible voter is registered to vote with the ability to opt out, and every registered voter gets a ballot in the mail. This gives the voter more time to do research on candidates and ballot measures. In the 2014 midterms, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado had averaged a 23% higher turnout than the other 47 states. Not only do these reforms increase participation, they save the state money. The research has shown that its saves anywhere from $2 to $5 per registered voter in election costs.
Now that we are beyond the election, a big priority is for us commit to democracy as an everyday activity so we can hold our leaders accountable to advance the policies that make our communities thrive. New and returning elected leaders need to be reminded that in a representative democracy, they represent us — not wealthy interests. We saw glimpses of that too on Tuesday in Montgomery County, Maryland and Maine.
The Montgomery County Council voted unanimously Tuesday morning to raise the minimum wage to $15/hour. This is a huge success for local activists and elected leaders who championed economic reform. They showed up continuously over several months to hearings and hosted house parties to call or email councilmembers to support raising the wage. It goes to show that when we show up and hold our elected leaders accountable, they listen to us — the people.
In Maine, voters went to the ballot to pass Medicaid expansion — “the first in the nation to use a ballot measure to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.” Mainers we’re tired of repeated delays by state legislators and executives, when their neighbors and friends were struggling to survive without coverage.
Pundits may spend lots of time talking about the shift in control for one party or another but the real shift is happening by the people. We must demand reforms that call for all eligible voters to be on the rolls and all votes to be counted in an election. We must break the influence of big money in our elections by demanding more small donor programs. And we must show up every day — 365 days a year — to show elected leaders that this is our democracy and we’re not giving it over to wealthy interests or corporate America.
So while participation went up slightly, 2018 is still unknown. Some project that 40 million less voters will come out in 2018. Let’s work to make sure that does not happen. It’s time to imagine a new reality for American democracy.
What does it look like? It is voters coming out at higher rates to reject hate and bigotry. It is elected leaders standing up for kitchen table issues and making sure the promise of democracy is available to all. An most importantly, it is everyday people taking an active role every day for today and future generations.
So let’s clap for Tuesday but not forget that there is a lot of work ahead for 2018. If everyday people continue to step up and we see great turnout in 2018 this slow clap will turn into thunderous applause as we together demand a reflective democracy for all.
