This November, Americans will face another election. Republicans and the Democrats will once again be pitted against each other in a fight to answer the question of who is wrong and who is right. The question we should be asking, though, is, “Who is who?” America has become so party oriented that we don’t even know or really care about the name, background, or record of the candidate. We just want to know if that parentheses beside their name has an R in it or a D.
Alabama has a gubernatorial election in November, but talking to a few people around campus has shown me that most do not even know the candidates. More people answer with Byrd than Byrne, and those that do actually know names mostly know nothing about the candidates.
The few who decide to vote in the primary on June 1 likely will not know that Robert Bentley, a former Tuscaloosa doctor and Alabama alumnus, has just gotten his personally drafted jobs bill unanimously passed through the Alabama House of Representatives or that Artur Davis, Tuscaloosa’s current U.S. representative, would be the first black governor in Alabama’s history. We will simply cast our vote for whose TV commercial we like or who has the most signs.
When the candidates for the general election are set, we may as well put it on auto-pilot. For most, the election in November will simply be a matter of going in the ballot box, finding the (R) or (D) and marking beside your party’s candidate. Sure, there will be those few politically minded people who care enough to bicker with the opposing side’s supporters, but those who care enough to bicker will have already picked their side. In statewide elections, the majority that doesn’t care or know doesn’t vote. In fact, only 26 percent of Alabamians below the age of 30 voted in the 2006 gubernatorial election.
Voting is a right of the people, but it is also a responsibility. We have been given the responsibility to make an informed decision on who we want to lead our state. This is a very important election, and, unfortunately, it will be left up to a bunch of people who vote because they think Artur is a cool name or because Byrne walks around with a gun in his commercials. I am not writing this to scold those who have slipped into apathy or party lines, but to warn against it. Stay informed. Take a few minutes to read about the candidates so that you can make informed decisions in June and November.
Will Edwards is a sophomore majoring in political science.
