Parks’ Place-It’s about a week until the November 4 General Election and there are some crucial propositions on the ballot, such as Proposition 47 that would allow lesser penalties for those who commit certain felony crimes, Proposition 48 to allow a new casino in Madera county, and Proposition P to continue funding parks, as well as highly influential offices including that of the Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General.
Did you know Monday, October 20 was the last day to register to vote in this election? Do you even know how to check to see if you’re a registered voter? Do you care?
I understand. Between the convictions, and the sleaziness, and the flagrant union deals approved by a supposed ‘impartial’ council body, it’s not hard to get disillusioned with the democratic process and feeling like your vote doesn’t matter, so why do it?
I’m here to tell you that your voice matters and your vote counts. In fact your vote is so valuable, that states like Texas are doing everything in their power to keep away certain people (read: those who favor Democratic) from voting.
I am a product of the Civil Rights Movement and for me, voting is a duty. It doesn’t matter what day of the week Election Day falls on. You have to do it, because as they say, closed mouths don’t get fed.
The right to vote is something a lot of people take for granted. Make no mistake, the rights we have today are because of bloodshed in the past. I encourage you to read up on the suffrage movements of African-Americans, African-American women, women, and non-citizens.
Sometimes it’s hard to relate to the past, so let’s talk about what’s going on now.
About 23% turned out for the May 21, 2013 general election in LA which had heavy-hitting offices and issues such as the Mayor, City Controller, council seats and medical marijuana ordinances on the ballot. That’s under 500,000 ballots cast. LA’s population is over 3.5 million.
The city wants to have more of you come out and vote. So, Council heard the plan from the Municipal Elections Reform Committee to increase voter turnout, most notably changing city elections to be held in even-numbered years (they are currently in odd years) to coincide with federal and state elections, which they believe will encourage you to vote because it will be more convenient and less confusing I guess? I voted no. I strongly encourage you to view the presentation below.
These officials are suggesting all kinds of ways to get you to vote short of paying your bills. Email me and let me know what you think. Would any of these recommendations get you to the polls?
A number of issues have been cited as reasons why people don’t vote: the lack of engagement, the prevalence of super PACs influencing elections, and non-memorable/non-distinguishable candidates to choose from are a few.
Are any of these issues within our control? Changing the election year is in our control, but it still does not address the underlying reasons why people choose not to vote. Plus the inconvenient truth remains that yes more people may vote when elections are moved to even-numbered years, but they will skip city contests/local issues due to a lengthy ballot or perhaps bigger issues that may capture more of their attention. Former LA City Clerk June Lagmay, along with Larry Levine and Jeffrey Daar, members of the Municipal Election Reform Committee, painted this picture crystal clear in their rebuttal.
Of a number of remedies to increase voter turnout including enacting term limits, matching funds, having instant runoffs between the top two candidates, enacting limits on contributions to candidates, making Vote-by-Mail more readily available, proposing changes to the U.S. Constitution and more, none have ever been fully evaluated to determine the impact of the voting process and yet voting continues to decline.
Another recommendation that I’m concerned about would look at consolidating city elections with the county. I’m particularly concerned about the cost and the implementation of the technology. Just Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times revealed that the County is projected to rollout a touchscreen voting system (to replace the current InkaVote system) in 2020.
The municipal elections reform plan will be reheard in Council on Friday, October 31. If Council approves, changing city elections to even-numbered years will appear on the March 3, 2015 primary ballot and it will be up to you to tell us when you want your elections. Now if you don’t vote in that election, an election where you’ll decide when you want your elections to be, then, I just don’t know what to say. I really don’t.
(Bernard Parks is Los Angeles Councilman for the 8th Council District. He is also former Los Angeles Police Chief. He can be reached at [email protected])
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 12 Issue 87
Pub: Oct 28, 2014
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