Moore: Apathy Portends Low Turnout This Primary Election

Moore: Apathy Portends Low Turnout This Primary Election

It’s one of the biggest ironies I’ve experienced following politics. Ask your neighbor their opinion on the presidential election, and you’re likely to hear an ear full.

Yet ask the average person their opinion on the primary election that’s going to take place one week from Tuesday in the Ocean State and you’re likely going to be met with a blank stare, or shoulder shrugs.

Yet despite those facts, the biggest impact that an individual can have in the Democratic process is on the local level. A regular Joe cannot really impact a presidential election in any meaningful way. Even if you’re from a swing state, and the vast majority of American’s aren’t, then the presidential election is mostly out of your hands. It’s impossible for the average person influence enough people to change the tide in a meaningful way.

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Yet if you’re interested in working, it’s not impossible for just one person to singlehandedly swing an election. With little more than ink, paper, and a copy machine, a motivated individual could deliver flyers to every single house in the district either supporting or opposing a candidate and therefore influencing an election. That person would immediately become a power player in Rhode Island, or at least city or town politics.

Don’t get me wrong, none of this is to say it’s easy. But it’s certainly possible.

Power of the People

Yet, most Rhode Islanders seem to pay little attention to the governmental body that has the biggest impact on their lives—the General Assembly. That’s the body whose powers are plenary, except for checks from the US and state constitution. They make all the rules and we all are forced to follow them.  

A week from tomorrow, average, everyday Rhode Islanders will have their say (in some cases, only) at the ballot boxes. In some instances, it will be their only say, since some races are only contested as primaries with the winner facing no opposition during the general election. In other general elections, there’s only token resistance. In other words, I think the most important election will be the one nobody pays attention to.

For example, the election in Representative District-5 in Providence that features savvy political veteran and House Majority Leader John DeSimone and newcomer Marcia Ranglin-Vassell. That’s an election that could change the composition of House leadership, yet there wouldn’t be much of a surprise if turnout in that election doesn’t eclipse 15 percent. And that election may very well have the highest turnout in the state.

A big reason for this is because democracy in America has become mostly an entertainment sport, not much different from the Red Sox playing against the Yankees. It’s just another form of what Americans care most about: entertainment. At some point in their lives, usually while they’re young, Americans pick which “team” they want to root for—either the Republicans or the Democrats. Humans are impressionable, so their team is usually influenced by the team their parents or friends support.

Entertainment Purposes Only

Then, to borrow a phrase from Governor Gina Raimondo, they hunker down. They disregard the facts and stories that reflect poorly on their preferred “team”. And they play close attention to the information that makes the team they don’t like look poorly.

Roger Ailes understood this truth. About 20 years ago, he realized that there wasn’t a national cable network that was catering to Republicans, so he created Fox News. Now, it’s routinely the highest rated cable news network—mostly because it doesn’t have much competition for the Republican appetite.

That’s the reason why Fox News and MSNBC are doing so well. They both cater to the each side of the political spectrum.

Most of the big money donors understand this and therefore donate money to the candidates from both parties. That way, they prevail, regardless of which candidates wins. Of course, there are true believers out there like the Koch brothers on the right side of the spectrum and folks like George Soros on the left—but it would surprise most Americans just how many big money folks donate to both sides.

Can We Make a Difference?

In Rhode Island, most people are born and raised Democrat. That’s probably the single biggest reason why Democrats dominate the state legislature. That means the whole us vs. them aspect of politics doesn’t exist much.

And in a vitally important primary election, that dynamic isn’t there either.

The other major impediment to motivation in the electoral process is apathy. There’s a sense that corruption is inevitable, regardless of who gets elected. I see the argument, but I know there are good people who want to see Rhode Island flourish and who are running. But they’ll falter without the support of good folks.

In any event, if folks want to actually have some say in how they’re governed, they ought to get involved at the local level. The first step towards doing that is to vote.

Russell Moore has worked on both sides of the desk in Rhode Island media, both for newspapers and on political campaigns. Send him email at [email protected] and follow him on twitter @russmoore713.