Voting doesn't have to be boring
I went on a bit of a Twitter rant Tuesday morning about voter turnout. At my precinct, I was the 50th voter… at 9 a.m. Voter turnout yesterday in North Carolina was less than 15 percent.
It’s a far cry from the 2008 Presidential election, when people were excited to vote and waited in line, sometimes for hours, to do it.
But here’s the thing. The primaries yesterday were every bit as important as the Presidential election, if not more so. While the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate was the top race on the ballot, voters across North Carolina also chose candidates for legislature, local boards of education, county commissioners, the court of appeals, district court and other offices.
A weekly tracking poll from Gallup asks registered voters across the nation how enthusiastic they are about voting. The latest results, released earlier this week, showed:
- Very enthusiastic: 35%
- Somewhat enthusiastic: 22%
- Not enthusiastic: 41%
- No opinion: 2%
Almost two-thirds of the people asked said they were not or were only somewhat enthusiastic about voting. So what can be done to get people excited? Here are a few ideas, at least from my public relations/public affairs perspective:
- Get back to basics. Quite simply, candidates need to ask for people’s votes. During this primary season, I was struck by how few of these asks were made, especially in some local-level races. And there are more ways than ever to ask – through traditional media, the Web, social media and old-fashioned door-to-door campaigning, direct mail and campaign events.
- Have more than opinions. Have concrete ideas, and be able to explain them quickly. People want to know that candidates have opinions, but they also want them to have ideas about how to address important issues. That doesn’t mean writing a 10-page document explaining your thinking, although pieces like that can live on the Web for those of us who read those kinds of things. It means knowing the issue and being confident enough in your idea to be able to explain it simply.
- Don’t only backbite. I know political science studies show negative campaign tactics influence people’s votes, and I’ve seen them work. The point is: people don’t just want to know what is wrong with the other guy. They want to know what’s right about you.
The general election this fall will shape North Carolina for at least the next two years, and in the case of the Senate race, the next six. Let’s work together to get people voting.
Stay tuned to the Capstrat blog for additional analysis of the primary, including a closer look at how the elections are continuing to shape the North Carolina General Assembly.
Comments
You're right, voting doesn't have to be boring. I'm thinking mandate bands to play outside the voting areas to entertain those in line or going in and out of the building. Jugglers, fire-eaters, and magicians would also be a good idea. Bring the kids!
Election Day should be a holiday so people could vote and party all on the same day. Just remember not to drink and vote...
Well said! Primaries and local elections are where your vote counts the most, yet have the lowest turnout. One area that not pubicized is the election of judges, and judges have a major impact on our society.
Good ideas -- I would love to hear more workable solutions and less backbiting.
Okay, curmudgeon alert:
I agree with Dana that candidates should do more to motivate people. I'm not so sure about the bands, jugglers and fire-eaters.
There's an element of self-selection in voting: You vote if you care enough, and are informed enough, to participate in the decision.
I'm not sure how much of my country's or community's destiny I want to have determined by the will of people who need the additional attraction of entertainment to take part.
When I wish for better voter turnout -- and I do, from people of all descriptions (how awful to have to disclaim this) -- it's the engaged people I hope to see in the booth. If you don't care enough to vote just for the sake of it... well, maybe you've unwittingly made the right decision for you, me and all of us.
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