Mike Parker: NC Election Season now open
As of Friday, September 6, North Carolina’s election process kicked off with mailing absentee ballots to those who request them. The deadline for voter registration is 5 p.m. on October 11. In-person early voting, with same-day registration, begins on October 17 and runs through 3 p.m. on Sunday, November 2. Of course, November 5 is in-person voting in the General Election.
If you are a regular reader, then you know that my philosophy on voting is simple: “If you don’t vote – don’t complain.” I believe a person earns the right to complain about political matters by voting.
Too many people believe the myth that “majority rules” in elections. The “majority rules” principle only applies to those who register and actually vote.
Here are figures from the 2016 election that show how far wrong that idea is. In 2016, 157,596,000 people were registered to vote. Of that number, 136,787,187 cast ballots, so 86.8 percent of registered voters actually voted.
That figure sounds strong until we realize the voting-age population in 2016 was 249,422,000. Not all people of voting age were actually eligible to vote. The voting-eligible population was 230,931,921. Roughly 18.5 million who were of voting age were excluded from voting for some legal reason.
That adjusted figure means that only 68.2 percent of voting-eligible people bothered to register to vote. The real number of voting-eligible people who actually voted was 59.2 percent, so less than 30 percent of those who were voting-eligible could decide any race for public office in this country in 2016.
I want to make a point to those who say, “My vote doesn’t mean anything.” If you are registered and actually vote, your vote has about twice the voting power of a typical “voter.” If you do not register, you exert ZERO influence on an election. If you are registered but do not vote, you have ZERO influence on an election.
If I have convinced you of the importance of your vote, the next step is to make sure you can cast that ballot. You should ask yourself and your loved ones these five questions:
Has my address changed?
According to the State Board of Elections, if your address has changed but you have not made the correction at the Board of Elections, then you may not be allowed to cast a ballot.
2. Are any family members turning 18 years old on or before November 5?
Sometimes those turning 18 by the date of an election think they cannot register to vote, but they are wrong. If you are going to be 18 on or before November 5, then you have the right and duty to register to vote. A person who will be 18 by November 5 can even vote in the primary elections of most states.
3. Have voter registration requirements changed in my state?
If you are serious about voting, check with the Board of Elections to ensure nothing has changed to prevent you from casting your ballot.
4. Could I have been scrubbed from voter registration lists due to inactivity?
In North Carolina, county Boards of Elections follow a comprehensive list maintenance schedule to remove names of individuals no longer eligible to be registered due to death, felony conviction, moving from the county or state, or lack of voter contact.
Voter registration records are not “purged” simply due to non-voting. Voters are removed from the voter rolls following a biennial list maintenance process mandated by federal and state law. Suppose a county Board of Elections has not had any contact with a voter for two federal election cycles. In that case, the voter will be sent a forwardable address confirmation mailing. The voter will be required to return the confirmation mailing within 30 days of the mailing.
If the voter does not return the confirmation mailing within that time or if the U.S. Postal Service returns the mailing as undeliverable, the voter’s record will be marked inactive in the voter registration database.
Inactive voters are still registered voters. If an inactive voter presents himself or herself to vote, the person must verify or update the address. If a county Board of Elections has had no contact with the voter for two more federal election cycles, the voter will be removed from the county’s voter rolls and need to re-register to vote. However, presenting yourself to vote counts as “contact.”
5. Could I have been scrubbed or suspended from voter registration lists due to clerical or postal errors?
Since no one can answer this last question “no” with certainty, checking your registration is a good idea.
If you want to have a say in how our county, state, and nation are operated, you need to vote. This information will help you make sure that you can cast your ballot.
Mike Parker is a columnist for the Neuse News. You can reach him at mparker16@gmail.com.
