By House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels
This election is one of the most significant and influential in memory. It’s a contest that reminds us of the deep divisions and factions in our nation. And at the same time, it reinforces the fundamental importance of exercising our democratic right to vote.
After all, the direction of our nation, our state, our counties, and municipalities are not dictated by the loudest, the richest, or the strongest. Rather, our leaders are selected by those who come out to vote. And in these uncertain and unpredictable times, it’s all the more important that we trust democracy. It’s all the more important that each and every one of us vote.
Let’s face it: the ongoing pandemic has shown a bright light on glaring inadequacies in our public institutions. Problems that have for too long been overlooked or ignored are now clearly and unequivocally unjust, unfair, and downright unAmerican. From massive gaps in social services to a lack of access to affordable and accessible healthcare to disparities in our education system to lack of economic opportunity to the failures of our criminal justice system, the chickens have come home to roost.
Sadly, we’re all paying the price. We’re paying it economically via widespread business closures and thousands unemployed. And we’re paying with our very lives – more than 2,700 Alabamians have tragically succumbed to the coronavirus and far too many have suffered severe illness and lasting complications.
But our situation is far from hopeless and we most definitely are not helpless. As we press on to fight this virus, to protect ourselves and our families from its spread, and to regain our financial and economic footing, the single most important thing we can all do right now is vote.
Yes, I said right now. The fact is you don’t even have to wait until November 3rd. Thanks to some much needed changes as a result of the pandemic, this year every weekday is Election Day in Alabama. Provided that you are already registered to vote (which the deadline was this past Monday, October 19), you can vote in person via absentee ballot on any weekday between now and October 29th.
Simply visit your county’s absentee election manager (usually in the circuit court clerk’s office), request an absentee ballot, fill it out, and submit it at the same time. Just be sure to follow the directions carefully to ensure your vote is counted and have a government issued ID.
And yes, every vote does count. Think one or two votes doesn’t make a difference. Think again. In a close election, every single vote can mean the difference between winning or losing, between change or stagnation. In Florence, the mayor’s race was recently decided by 11 votes. In fact, the United States has a long history of important races at local, state, and congressional levels being decided by a few votes (or less). In 2018, the Democratic Primary for Baltimore County Executive was decided by just 17 votes. The year before that a Virginia House of Delegates race ended in a tie. And in 2016, several state house races, including those in Vermont, New Mexico, and Wyoming, were decided by a single vote.
That’s why it is disappointing when so many of my fellow Alabamians don’t vote. Alabama is regularly below the national average for voter turnout — with only 47.5% of eligible voters casting a ballot in the state in 2018 despite historic turnout nationally. In the 2017 special election, more than half a million African American voters in Alabama voters did not vote. Adding these numbers in a statewide race makes the difference.
My message is simple: your vote is your voice. It’s your opportunity to send a message loud and clear to your representatives at all levels of government. Your vote can make a difference in shaping policies for the long-term, not just in Montgomery and Washington, D.C., but also locally. In addition to presidents and members of congress, we elect county commissioners, mayors, city councils, school board members, district attorneys, sheriffs, judges, and coroners. Vote now and never stop.
Yes, this is the most important election in memory. If you have not voted, you should. If you have not voted, you must. Do it today.
In the words of the late Congressman John Lewis, who spilled blood fighting for voting rights in Selma 55 years ago – a fight he continued his entire life before passing away earlier this year: “The vote is precious. It’s almost sacred, so go out and vote like you never voted before.”