Election Day is this week (Nov. 4), and despite Republican optimism and Democratic worries about control of the Senate, if voter turnout is roughly the same as over the past half century, then — it being a mid-term election — percentage-wise it will average in the high-30s or low 40s.
If that seems disappointing in the world’s greatest democracy, consider the challenges of getting out to vote. November weather can be cold — depending on the part of the country, temperatures can be in the 20s and include biting winds. An inch or two of snow is also possible, and even if it’s only raining, that can result in poor visibility, wet roads and slippery sidewalks.
Speaking of travel, in rural areas you might have to drive 20 miles or more to get to the voting booth, while in dense population areas, voting often means standing in long lines. Also, since Election Day is on a workday, voting can interfere with your job, as well as many after-work responsibilities.
In sum, voting may be a right and a privilege, but also a chore, tempting many of us to sit it out. And besides, does one vote really matter?
It seems to have mattered to the residents of the many districts in my home state of Virginia during the presidential and congressional elections in 1787. Granted, it was our first election under the new government created by the U.S. Constitution, so the excitement and history-making aspects were motivators. On the other hand, the vote was in February, and on Election Day the temperatures ranged from two degrees to 10 below zero.
And it had previously snowed, up to 10 inches in many places, with driving winds that made travel especially difficult — especially since that travel was not done in cars with heaters or windshield wipers.
It was on foot, on horses or in unheated carriages, and most travelers’ clothing of flimsy homespun linen and wool did little to keep out the cold. In fact, anyone traveling more than two hours to a voting booth — which was the usual requirement — was highly susceptible to hypothermia and frostbite, and in many of Virginia’s larger counties the trip to vote took all day. And then there was the ever-present danger of accidents, as horses tried to navigate bridges and roads pockmarked by patches of ice and frozen debris.
Despite all of that, state-wide, nearly 45 percent of the people voted, and as for one vote mattering, a high turnout in one district ensured that (my hero) James Madison — who would do more than any other American to shape our future government — was elected to Congress.
The moral of the story? If you didn’t vote, shame on you!
