Election Day Blues (And Reds)

By: Helen Vollmer, President, Edelman Southwest

Whether you’re a red state or a blue state, I was reminded during the election cycle that came to fruition this week that exercising our right to vote in this country is in a pretty sad state of affairs.

According to The Center for the Study of the American Electorate, only 57.5 percent of eligible voters showed up to choose a new US president. And while 11.2 million Latinos (our fastest growing demographic) voted in the 2012 election, the Pew Research Center says that represented only 48 percent of eligible Hispanic voters.

So what’s up with this? Why can’t we make it to the polls? I know everyone out there has an opinion about what’s right and wrong with their neighborhood, city, state and country.

Certainly, there are some issues regarding state election laws that are viewed by some as placing significant restrictions on voter registration drives. But in what seems to be an increasingly partisan world we’re living in, the fact remains that voting means having a voice in the process, a responsibility not to be taken lightly. Voting is the only real way we have of indicating to politicos exactly what the electorate as a whole wants.

We’re a nation of freedom fighters and believers in a democratic system. While you may not like election outcomes all the time, if you don’t vote and encourage your children, neighbors and colleagues to do so, you really will have lost your voice. And there’s nothing worse than laryngitis in a political firestorm.