Feeling a little powerless? To exercise a little political might and your civic duty, consider voting in Minnesota’s August 10th Primary Election.
Sunday’s edition of the Star Tribune includes a story by Rachel Stassen-Berger: “Big choice will be made by few voters: An expected small turnout in August will give voters extra influence in the outcome.”
While I don’t want to celebrate low civic participation, the simple fact of the matter is that small groups of passionate voters will have considerable sway. Ponder this fact from the Strib article:
One analysis shows that turnout may be so low that in a state of more than 5 million people, a nominee could be chosen with fewer than 100,000 votes — about the population of Rochester.
In fact, the article points out that while the Republican and Democratic winners could move on to the general election with as few as 100,000 votes, the Independence Party winner may be chosen by fewer than 8,000 voters.
Yikes!
Now consider that smaller races, those for individual state legislative offices, are also being held. Many primary elections for State Representatives will be decided by less than 1000 voters.
Yikes again!
So, if you’re feeling powerless, the August 10th Primary Election gives you a chance to exercise a little political might.
Now, you could be asking, “How do I do that?”
- Vote. To find out more details, check out this information from the Secretary of State’s Office.
- Before the Primary, write a letter to the editor to your local paper asking all candidates to prioritize the issues you and your neighbors care about.
- Also before the Primary, invite candidates to visit you and your neighbors. Imagine this: You could call Independence, Republican, and Democratic candidates to visit the apartment complex you live in. Open the door for them, so they could door-knock your apartment complex for a night. Better yet, consider sponsoring a small interview of all of the candidates (separately or together) in your apartment. Invite your neighbors to attend.
HOME Line is excited to help tenants figure out how to do this, so contact us if you are interested.
