Living Green

Don’t Neglect Your Right. VOTE!

By Bryan Hayes

It is election season and Florida is putting its finishing touches on the primaries.   Did you know how many Floridians voted this year in the primaries?  28.1%.

An informal poll, of my own, provided a glimpse into why 71.9% of registered voters did not vote.   First of all, Florida has always closed primary elections.  As such, only members of a political party can vote in the party’s primary.   In Florida, an estimated 3.2 million registered voters are not affiliated with a political party.   That is 27% of the registered voters.   Second, a majority of those I spoke to explained the reason they decided not to vote was due to them not being able to support any of the available candidates.   When pressed further, what they really meant was that they did not support any of the “presidential” candidates.

While the national election gets a majority of the attention and the local elections often gets lost in the shuffle, local elections are critically important as they directly affect the community.  In terms of sustainability, and green issues, there are continually items on the ballot of great significance.   Expansion versus preservation is a hot topic not only within the state, but in Wellington as well.   With only 28.1% of the registered voters determining the fate of these issues, it leaves a majority of the population’s voice muted.

The way to be heard is by voting.   I have heard a lot of people say, “I am only one person. I am only one vote.  I don’t make a difference.”    While every vote does count, there is much about the entire political arena that can lead someone to feel like giving up on the entire process; the reasons could fill pages upon pages. But, putting all of those aside, there are many cases of someone being elected, or an initiative being passed, by only a handful of votes.   Those that stayed home could have been the deciding factor.

While individuals elected only stay in office a relatively short time, initiatives that are passed can have a lasting impact. Most specifically, these are initiatives relating to environmental issues.    What we vote to do today can forever alter the landscape of our world forever more.   It takes due diligence to research the facts, which are often times murky with the paid advertisements and other means of motivating the public to vote one way or another. The time taken is worth it to formulate one’s own judgment.

In terms of being environmentally conscious, the voting process is itself not environmentally friendly.   Driving to and from is one issue, along with the massive amounts of paper.  For right now, though, the process will remain the same. There have been speculation of utilizing an email voting system, but there is among other things, the security issue. The same is true for online voting.   One day, maybe in the near future, the system will be revolutionized making it easier for more people to stay in and vote.

Until then, there is too much to lose by not voting.   It may not be perfect, but that too can change through the same process.    Everyone has an opportunity to make a difference, not only nationally, but locally as well.