Get out the vote

by Bob Henline in The Straight Line | 0 comments

Over the course of the past several months I’ve made an effort to be a kinder, gentler columnist. I’ve refrained from name-calling and aggressive commentary, for the most part. However, last month something happened that is making me think that maybe it’s time to get pissed off again.

Anyone care to take a stab at what that might have been? Bueller? Bueller? I’ll give you a hint: It was on Sept. 13. Still don’t know? It was the municipal primary election for Utah. I haven’t looked at statewide numbers, but according to the Salt Lake County Clerk’s office a whopping 13 percent of registered voters managed to cast their ballots in the primary. That’s 22,359 votes cast from a registered number of 172,294. That doesn’t even take into account the number of eligible voters that haven’t gotten off their dead asses and registered to vote!

Take a look at what’s happened in Utah over the past few years. We’ve got the Department of Transportation writing out a $13 million check to the losing bidder of a “completely above-the-board” project, a state legislature that takes pride in the fact that they’ve avoided considering equality ordinances, a near-lethal attack on open government through HB477, and all the shenanigans associated with the current redistricting debacle. And those are just the highlights!

The current elections are for the municipal leaders that will guide the direction of our communities in the coming years. We’re talking about city councils and a mayor or two, primarily. And I know most of you are sitting back right now and saying that your vote doesn’t matter, and quite frankly, neither do these elections. Well, you couldn’t be more wrong. In the Midvale District 3 primary, the election was decided by two votes. How many votes didn’t matter in that race?

You think our municipal elections don’t matter? Where are the nondiscrimination ordinances in effect today? There isn’t a statewide ordinance, and as long as we continue to leave the GOP in charge there won’t be. Our municipalities have been the ones on the front lines of that battle. Right now it is our municipal governments that are leading the way, dragging our idiotic legislature kicking and screaming into the 21^st century. And you think that doesn’t matter?

By the time this column hits the streets it will be too late to register by mail, but you can still register to vote at the County Clerk’s office through Oct. 24 for the general election that occurs on Nov. 8. You can also register online through Oct. 24, although, in many cases you’ll have to print your application and take it to the Clerk’s office. Yes, it may actually require a bit of effort on your part to drive to 2100 South and State Street to take part in the democratic process.

Do you really think that corporations are people? That it’s more important to give them tax breaks than it is to fund health care? Do you think that someone should be denied employment or housing based on gender identity or sexual orientation? If so, stay home and watch people suffer. If not, get up and do something about it. Go to the polls and vote.

All ranting and raving aside, it’s not just your right to vote, it’s your responsibility. Over the past two years I’ve seen protest after protest, rally after rally, on both sides of the political fence. If half of the people running their mouths actually voted, it would be a whole different ball game. From my own biased perspective, think about this – in Utah the Republicans vote. That’s how they win elections, they actually have people show up at the polls and cast ballots. If as many liberals, progressives, or even moderates as I’ve talked to about making change in Utah’s pathetic status quo actually stood together and voted, we’d see real change – change for the better.

Now is the time. There is no future, there is no second chance. Get off your ass and get in the game.