Dominic CalabroFlorida’s primary election is today. This year’s election cycle features a highly contested governor’s race, and the political adversaries hoping to battle it out on the November ticket are only warming up during the primary races.
Everybody knows about Election Day in the United States. On the first Tuesday in November, American citizens around the nation can be seen proudly sporting their “I Voted” stickers, wearing red, white and blue, and dutifully waiting in line to cast their vote. As the leader of the free world, America shines on Election Day as a beacon of hope — the embodiment of democracy.
Why then, does the primary election take a back seat to all of this fanfare? Why is voter turnout significantly lower?
The right that we are all so proud to have and to exercise in November becomes more an obligation during August. Citizens forget, or they don’t make time to visit the polls. Many people couldn’t even name those running for a place on the November ticket.
But primary elections are just as important as the general elections. In some instances, people are elected based on the results of a primary race; there is no opportunity to vote again in later months.
Voters who think it only their responsibility to cast a ballot in November have failed to perform their civic duty. And there is no excuse. Contact your supervisor of elections to find your polling place and to get a sample ballot, so you can research the candidates you’ll mark your ballot for.
Florida TaxWatch reminds all voters to participate in the primary election. Voting is one of the easiest ways to participate in government and TaxWatch encourages all to exercise their right and responsibility to elect their officials. Civic engagement is critical to the political and policy processes that take place at the local, state and national level. It is a pillar of the Florida TaxWatch mission to provide the citizens of Florida and public officials with high quality, independent research and analysis of issues related to state and local government taxation, expenditures, policies, and programs.
We encourage voters to take advantage of our independent, nonpartisan research to learn more about the issues that affect their communities, in order to make an informed decision at the voting booth.
Today the polls should be just as busy as they’ll be in November.
Dominic M. Calabro is President and CEO of Florida TaxWatch. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
