With Hawaiʻi being one of the lowest voting states in the Nation, it’s time we take active roles in government.
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During this time of the year, we see people sign waving and handing out registration forms to vote. But when it comes down to it, we think to ourselves, to vote..or not to vote.
Colin Moore, Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Political Science Department says, “as you might now, Hawaiʻi has one of the lowest voter turnout consistantly in the United States. This has long been a concern. And Iʻm not sure that anyone has entirely the answer for why that is, but it has been a consistant phenonima for many years.”
There are about 1,360,00 people in the state of Hawaiʻi. Out of that, only about 290,000 people voted.
In perspective, out of every 10 people, only 2 actually vote.
“Voting is an easy way to participate in politics and I think it makes people pay attention to political issues more.” says Moore.
If this is so, why do we have such a low voter turn out?
“I think its because theyʻre not interested in politics; they think their vote doesnʻt matter. But of course, it really does, and people who donʻt turn out to vote, politicians tend to ignore them and their issues. They don’t like to disappoint their constituents. And of course it’s very affective if you can say you are a voter. People who do vote, tend to be more educated, weathier, as a rule among racial ethnic groups, white people tend to vote the most. Elderly people tend to vote more.” says Moore.
Based on this, we can understand the need for more people to be active participants and vote in order to have a better representation of the people of Hawaiʻi.
Moore says that, “in part, itʻs your civic duty. I mean if you want to participate in demoracy, you want to complain about things that are happening, if youʻre not even willing to spend 15 minutes o vote…I mean itʻs hard to take your complaints that seriously.”
Itʻs not too late to take action, Let your voice be heard. Registration deadline is October 8, 2012. Election day is November 6, 2012 @ 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Remember, your voice does matter!
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