November 6 was Baltimore City's Election Day. This general election would generate one mayor, one comptroller and one City Council president, along with 14 members of the City Council. To make voting convenient, the city's Board of Elections had set aside more than 260 polling stations across 14 electoral districts. After all, voting is still considered an integral part of public life, right? Well, not exactly.
In the first 90 minutes of the election, only two voters came to the Roland Park polling station.
"It makes the day go longer," Republican Judge Anthony Jones joked. At Roland Park, the 11 election judges and volunteers outnumbered voters.
In an interview with the Baltimore Sun, Chief Democratic Judge Donna Lowe expressed a little more optimism. "I think it will pick up," she said. Later, she admitted the turnout wasn't what she'd hoped for.
Voting is a fundamental privilege we have as citizens of a democracy. It is also a duty that binds us to this social contract. Through voting, we approve laws and decisions by mutual consent. Without this process, how are we going to make our voices heard, make the necessary changes for the common good, and make sure that our legislator stays in check? If one doesn't participate in this simple yet inalienable process, one certainly has no right to complain about their discontents. Often, we demand responsible government, but are we really acting as responsible citizens?
"People have to understand that if they don't vote, then they don't have any right about anything that happens or doesn't happen," Lowe said in an interview with the Baltimore Sun.
Voter turnout rates have been steadily declining. If only 40 to 50 percent of citizens turned out for a general election that determined the future of Baltimore, then where were the rest? Sleeping? Eating? Playing Scrabble? Making money? Finishing up an essay assignment? If these are the rationales for not showing up at the polling station, can we simply accuse them for their apparent negligence of their rights and duties as citizens?
To answer this question, we may also want to review current social context of this election. Baltimore City is often called the heroin capital of America. With only a 68.4 percent high school graduation rate, the city's public education system is also strained. Burdened by a 6.9 percent reported unemployment rate as of January 2007, the economy's performance is at best mediocre. The city's income per capita as of 2005 was $31,607, far behind the $41,972 average of the state of Maryland. After trekking through these truths, it's no surprise that most citizens would simply forfeit their voting rights. After all, what's the use of voting if little progress has been made to improve the lives of ordinary citizens in the city?
Meanwhile, back at the Roland Park polling station, election officials strolled about absent-mindedly. The nearly empty high school gym had an eerily serene mood, not something one would expect on a conventional election day. Once in a while, a few election volunteers sparked up light-hearted conversations. Indeed, it was just a lazy, ordinary day.
