"A
share in the sovereignty of the state, which is exercised by the
citizens at large, in voting at elections is one of the most
important rights of the subject….."
- Alexander Hamilton
Two
days before “THE ELECTION,” the Anchorage Aces played their 3rd
game with Scott Gomez here in Anchorage. Did the biggest roar of
applause come from any play on the ice? No. It came when the
announcer commented that the election would soon be over.
Why?
Non-stop phone calls, automated messages, polls, surveys, and
literature on your front door. Breathe a sigh of relief. It’s over.
Can we
make the next election less ‘in your face,’ lower the cost of
campaigns and at the same time increase the accountability of our
representatives? Yes.
Every
citizen needs to register and consistently vote.
Achieving 100% voter registration and turnout will allow campaigns
to focus on what really matters. How? By addressing reasons cited
for avoiding voting, I can explain why campaigns are run the way
they are, and how seriously voter complaints should be taken.
1.
“I’m sick of negative campaigns!”
Despite
what you might think, the reason campaigns go negative is not
because the candidates enjoy it. According to Larry Rosin, President
of Edison Media Research, “If there were any evidence that going
negative actually makes people more likely to vote for the other guy
do you actually think they would keep making negative ads? As long
as the arguments have a basis in fact, the negative advertising is
usually very effective.”
2.
“These campaigns are obnoxious!”
Voters
should be flattered by the attention. Democracies depend on informed
participation- and are run by eager citizens who show up. You need
to be ‘in your face’ to motivate a voter. Voter turnout is about
30-40 percent on average, so getting people to the polls is about
persistence, cajoling, etc. Those votes are getting pricey. The
total spent on the 2004 presidential campaign was nearly twice what
was spent on the 2000 presidential election and this did not result
in twice the number of votes cast in 2004.
3.
“We spend too much money on campaigns!”
The
average person spends about 5 minutes a week thinking about what
politicians think about all day. Until the reading habits of the
average American citizen changes radically, money will remain the
best way to grab voters’ attention and direct it towards the issues.
Because 30-40 percent of citizens are the ones making electoral
decisions, these people are necessary to the candidates who need
their support. The only way to figure out what motivates them is to
spend a lot of money getting information from them. These ‘super
voters’ should be happy, by the way. After all these 50,000 people
or so in Alaska are making the decisions affecting over 500,000
people. Food for thought.
4.
“Candidates don’t talk about issues!”
If a
candidate started speaking passionately about “the issues” and not a
single voter did the most cursory research on the issue, would it
matter? Candidates want to talk about the issues more than anything.
But they don’t have the luxury of time and they can’t assume anyone
else does either. That restriction only allows the use of buzzwords,
soundbites, catch phrases and ‘rhetoric.’ The issues and policy work
happens AFTER they are elected.
A 100%
voter turnout each election results in a proactive electorate.
By
proactively voting, communication between candidates and voters
would start with the voter. Additionally, voters would be informed
and get themselves to the polls. By taking the onus off decision
makers, issues and policies would return to center stage.
If we
continue to create a vacuum by not voting, we’ll continue to allow
that vacuum to be filled by pollsters, media consultants, $6 billion
campaigns, and negative ads during the campaign season.
Additionally, lobbyists will fill that hole we’ve created during the
session.
It is
up to us - are we up to the task?
The message above and other services are provided free of charge through the
generous support of donated staff time and monetary contributions. If
you agree with our project please consider a donation in one form or another.
Alaska Voters Organization, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation and in
most cases your donations of cash or in kind are 100% tax deductible.
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Organization; and mail to PO Box 3293; Kenai, Alaska;
99611-3293.
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contact our office with
any questions or comments.
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