The presidential election is finally over, after what felt like months of a battle between two ruthless parties. With the elections being over, no one is thinking about local elections that are happening in a few short months; most are concerned with how much their trauma therapy and safe spaces are going to cost due to this past election. What I can’t seem to grasp is how a generation so passionate about their voice being heard and making a positive impact could lose hope so quickly.
Don't lose hope, if anything those upset with the election should be using this to add fuel to their fire. Your voice can still be heard, but that can only happen through your local elections.
Looking up the statistics to understand the numbers was shocking. By looking at FairVote.com, the voter turnout rate for midterm elections nationally was 35.9% in 2014. In Chattanooga, the mayoral election is approaching in the spring, and it's expected the voter turnout to be extremely low because of a “voter exhaustion” due to the most recent presidential election.
There is research on the causes behind these concerning numbers. This article isn’t meant to list those reasons; it’s here give you a wake-up call.
Your local government has an immediate impact on you as a citizen.
The 10th Amendment says it best: The powers that are not granted to the federal government are reserved for states and the people, which are divided between state and local government.
This means that your local government has power over the police departments, libraries, and schools along with its written constitution. Each state has an executive branch headed by a governor directly elected by the people; a legislative branch made up of elected representatives, and a Judicial Branch which is typically led by the state supreme court (sorry you don’t get to vote this one).
In other words, what happens within the local government must be granted power by the state. As citizens of the state, we elect who decides to grant that power along with who receives that power.
People don’t understand the importance of local government but I hope after reading this you understand it better.
What I hope many young voters will understand is that there are countless other opportunities for your voice to be heard, not just through a presidential election that gets most of the spotlight. Don’t crawl into your hiding hole because you’re scared of what this new administration will bring, let it ignite your fire that you displayed so passionately throughout this last election.
