In response to my post on the Voting Rights Act one of my boys asked me (rhetorically) why black people don’t vote…or at the very least why we have to have voting drives to get people to even think about voting.
The following abstract might help. I had a post relating to it in the last iteration of the blog but I didn’t port it over. Martin Gilens is not only one of the best political scientists in the business, but he also has the right politics. He published a piece entitled Inequality and Democratic Responsiveness in a 2005 edition of Public Opinion Quarterly. The abstract:
By allowing voters to choose among candidates with competing policy orientations and by providing incentives for incumbents to shape policy in the direction the public desires, elections are thought to provide the foundation that links government policy to the preferences of the governed. In this article I examine the extent to which the preference/policy link is biased toward the preferences of high-income Americans. Using an original data set of almost two thousand survey questions on proposed policy changes between 1981 and 2002, I find a moderately strong relationship between what the public wants and what the government does, albeit with a strong bias toward the status quo. But I also find that when Americans with different income levels differ in their policy preferences, actual policy outcomes strongly reflect the preferences of the most affluent but bear virtually no relationship to the preferences of poor or middle-income Americans. The vast discrepancy I find in government responsiveness to citizens with different incomes stands in stark contrast to the ideal of political equality that Americans hold dear. Although perfect political equality is an unrealistic goal, representational biases of this magnitude call into question the very democratic character of our society.
A majority of people (black, white, latino, asian, native american, etc.) don’t vote because they understand this and do not believe that voting will help solve this problem. I think they’re wrong…but not all that far off.
Dr. Spence, I used to be one of those blacks that did not vote because I did not think that my vote would count or even help. I was a big conspiracy theorist. I would always withhold my vote because I figured that no one black would get a chance. This was not something instilled in me growing up (my mother was very neutral). What changed my mind? Harold Washington….
I was in college when a man, by the name of Harold Washington threw his hat into the ring of fire (if you will) for mayor of Chicago. There was a very strong “get out the vote” deployment. College students and neighborhood folk got together and support the first black mayor of the city of Chicago.
Of course, I voted. I even helped register folks to vote absentee, which I did from my school. I’ve voted in every election ever since. My eyes were opened because I saw a renewed birthing and what happens when a young black guy “actually” votes instead of “just” complaining.
I tell young folks to vote, but I also tell them they need to learn about the candidates. Just don’t go to the polls uninformed – be smart about voting. I also tell young people that there is more than one political party. In Chicago, there was a “Harold Washington Party”, which has lost its luster over the years, Democrats still rule. I tell people they need to be more concerned about the local government because these folk pass legislation that effect you directly.
Chicagoans have just been given a smack in the face (both cheeks). The city council has voted to give themselves a pay increase as well as voted to not support the large stores because they allege that they don’t pay a “living” wage. I get tired of hearing politicians talk about the “living” wage. Most of the aldermen live in areas with high crime, but a poor person can no longer afford to live there. Even Section 8 is hard to come by for some of the poor folks.
I guess voting may be no longer a positive thing for the less fortunate, but I think that we must encourage every one to exercise their right to vote. Some say, that a person “choosing” not to vote is that person exercising their right as well. That makes sense, but I guess I’d prefer to see more blacks voting than not.
I’m not saying voting isn’t a positive thing. But I am saying that I can understand why people don’t do it. Because of vote-jacking it takes much longer for people in cities to do it, and because we vote on Tuesdays it is harder for working class folks to get time off to do it. We have the lowest turnout rate of the industrial nations largely because voting regulations do not favor high turnout (this is purposeful).
What we have to do is not just register people to vote, and we have to do more than tell people to get information about the candidates. We have to give people something to vote for. Whether we’re talking about living wage ordinances, or anti-liquor store ordinances. Moving beyond individual candidates we should be focusing on causes–causes that lead to a better quality of life. Harold Washington was a spark–but as his case proves, people die. Causes do not.
Dr. Spence, you’re absolutely correct on your last point. Causes do not die! With that in mind, what can “we” do to reintroduce a reasoning to vote? I understand that “fear” has been a main driving force over the last 12 years (at least). Outside of fear, what is it that you think can be done to get more people beyond an individual and a political party for that matter.
One thing I know that has hurt many blacks has been the lack of information and the lack to get information. For example, they have absentee voting (which is available in most states), but so many blacks either don’t take advantage of it or they have no idea how or when to use it. The information is available and has been available. My mother, peace be upon her, voted in the 2004 election as an absentee. I helped her because she was unable to hold the stylus. No, I did not cheat – I voted for everyone she chose. *LOL* She had a major concern about getting to the polls, but I shared with that she could vote absentee. She felt better after the voting card was dropped in the mail. Her precinct usually has a very low voter turnout (Westside Chicago)
Another thing Chicago did in this most recent election was Early Voting. This was a pilot where 3 weeks prior to the election, voters could go to designated polling places and vote – EARLY. I wanted to take part, but I kept blowing it off and just went to vote before I went to work on election day. I figure myself to be relatively intelligent (I know the jury is still out on that), but I found that the new election process was a bit more cumbersome. I had a spoiled ballot. First time in all the years I have been voting. I wanted to use the touch screen, but the staff made that especially available for disabled persons – that wasn’t happening in the non-black areas. I think the punch cards worked better than these scan tron sheets. Too much more room for error, in my opinion.
Anyway, I think I will take advantage of the early voting in November (late October).
Take the bread and butter issues that working class folks care about, and get them on the ballot. Think about ways to make voting and voter registration more accessible and get them on the ballot.
If people on the south side were presented with the opportunity to vote all those liquor stores out of existence, you think they wouldn’t turn out? If people had the opportunity to vote to make the city spend some money cleaning up the parks in the neighborhood so folks can play? Just getting this stuff on the ballot isn’t easy mind you, but generating ballot proposals, changing voting rules, and mobilizing folks are the only ways.
What do you think about a ballot proposal requiring teachers with the best certification/testing scores to teach at schools with the lowest performing students vs. granting unfettered placement in the “best” schools?