Power of the Politically Uneducated

Yesterday night, I sat in a small "strategy room", straining to hear the ring of a cell phone over the loud conversations surrounding me. As the numbers runner for the campaign victory party I was at, I was one of the first to hear the primary election results for my county, and thus an eyewitness to the power of the politically uneducated voter.

I had an advantage in this: anytime a candidate pulled ahead that we knew wasn't particularly competent, there was an outcry of complaints. Probably some bias in this, yes, but the experience taught me a lot.

There's a plethora of examples, especially in my specific district. But to keep this from being a rant, I'll make it short: candidates won that have no experience, no logical ideas, or have a major personality flaw that has already proven to cause problems in their ability to work with others. So these are the people that will be leading our county, our state, our country?

I'm against the idea of the politically uneducated voter. In my county, sign graveyards line the streets, literature is distributed weekly, and politicians actively use technology to reach their voters. It's not hard to get yourself informed. There's avenues after avenues to achieve that. Campaigns attend events in the county and call every registered voter using the ultimate creeping site, Voter Vault. If you can't take the five minutes it takes to inform yourself and make a decision, you should not be voting. Period. Filling out random names or voting for someone because of their gender, race, etc. is a waste of a vote and can condemn areas to poor leadership for years. Don't screw up the political scene for people that care. Inform yourself or don't vote at all.

Best example of this: I voted early and, before going into the building, saw a candidate for sheriff that I've met a few times sign waving. I went over to greet him and make small talk. He told me that people had exited the voting area and told him that they voted for him because of his sign waving. Think about it: multiple people went into the voting booth and voted for a guy because they had just seen him sign waving. They know nothing about his experience or ideas for protecting Harford County. They saw a name on a sign. The guy lost the race, but how many have won close races because of the uniformed voter? (Side note: this guy was the best candidate for the Republicans in this case)

We are entrusted with the power to elect our own leaders. We have a responsibility to ourselves and to our children to make intelligent and informed decisions. I'm actually glad that my friends that know nothing about politics didn't vote - when they decide that they care enough, they can take the step of voting. Maybe I take the ability to vote very seriously, but it should be.