{"id":2711,"date":"2017-11-10T00:07:32","date_gmt":"2017-11-10T05:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/?p=2711"},"modified":"2017-11-10T00:08:12","modified_gmt":"2017-11-10T05:08:12","slug":"2017-another-election-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/archives\/2711","title":{"rendered":"2017 – Another election down"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"One of the coolest things about not being aligned with a political party (known as an independent), is that I have no problems voting for candidates of any party.\u00a0 My only criteria: who I feel will be the best person for the job they are running for. Needless to say, I get a bunch of crap from my republican friends, and also my democratic friends.<\/p>\n

A big question I have for my fellow citizens: why do off year elections have a such a low turnout<\/a>?\u00a0 In national elections, in elections where a president is being elected, voter turnout ranges from 50 – 65% of the electorate (population eligible to vote).\u00a0 During mid-term elections (off year elections), voter turnout goes down to 35 – 50%.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 I especially find it interesting as it is the local elections in which a citizen’s vote matters most. This same question was asked on Quora<\/a>, a website dedicated to asking questions.\u00a0 There were several answers, but a couple stood out:\u00a0 One made the case that when there is a consistent correlation of groups of people not voting, elected officials are less likely to care about their needs.\u00a0 Another\u00a0made the claim that lower voter turn out allows smaller voting blocs to dominate those of a more moderate view(s), and with this, the lower the ratio of eligible voters to actual voters, the harder it is to know that the result is an actual representation of the people.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As a citizen, it is our fundamental responsibility to vote, I encourage each of you to download a copy of the Citizen’s Almanac<\/a> (a great read if you haven’t read it).\u00a0 I have a great respect for naturalized citizens, of which the bosslady is one. An excerpt from the almanac reads…<\/p>\n

U.S. citizens have important\u00a0rights and responsibilities. These include the\u00a0right to vote in federal elections and the ability\u00a0to serve on a jury. Citizenship is a privilege that
\noffers the extraordinary opportunity to be a\u00a0part of the governing process…
\nBy voting in federal, state, and local elections, citizens choose their government\u00a0leaders. The right to vote is one of the most important liberties\u00a0granted to American citizens. It is the foundation of a free society.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On November 7th, the\u00a0citizens of Virginia chose who we feel would do the best job of running our state. That is not to say the candidates that weren’t chosen are not good people, it only means the greater portion of the population wanted their competitor.\u00a0For my politically partisan elected officials – I caution that you might want to start working together, across the aisle with your peers, or you might just find yourself out of a job too. I think the country is getting tired of divisiveness, we are in this together; why not work together.\u00a0 As one politician from a different age once said, it’s not a good bill unless no one (politicians) is happy.<\/p>\n

One of the things I find distasteful in our current political environment is why people feel the need to make everything about Republican vs. Democrats and Democrats vs. Republicans. In my opinion, we (as a nation) have bigger fish to fry than worrying about the letter after somebodies name. A person’s character is far more important than the letter after their name.<\/p>\n

What say you?\u00a0 Agree?\u00a0 Disagree?\u00a0 Why?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the coolest things about not being aligned with a political party (known as an independent), is that I have no problems voting for candidates of any party.\u00a0 My only criteria: who I feel will be the best person … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"kt_blocks_editor_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[50,103,91,82],"class_list":["post-2711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-america","tag-politics","tag-responsibilities","tag-rights"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1159,"url":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/archives\/1159","url_meta":{"origin":2711,"position":0},"title":"Voting day 2013","author":"DR D","date":"November 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Voting took place nationwide today.\u00a0 My race was pretty small, only our Governor, LT. Governor, Attorney General, and local races.\u00a0 After I voted, I was chit-chatting with one of the persons pounding the pavement in front of the poll places, and they stated that there were no major lines to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/archives\/category\/politics"},"img":{"alt_text":"I_Voted.__Did_You.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/2013-11-05_08-28-25_109-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15065,"url":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/archives\/15065","url_meta":{"origin":2711,"position":1},"title":"Virginia vs. the Fed\u2026. Who\u2019s got the better case?","author":"DR D","date":"October 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently, the governor of Virginia, Glen Younkin, ordered the removal of 1600+ individuals from Virginia\u2019s voting roster.\u00a0 These 1600+ people were previously identified, and are known non-citizens.\u00a0 According to the governor\u2019s press secretary, \u201c\u2026everyone who was removed from the voter roll [has] 14 days to come back and demonstrate that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/archives\/category\/politics"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/virginia_Seal.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15068,"url":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/archives\/15068","url_meta":{"origin":2711,"position":2},"title":"Time to strap in and buckle up!","author":"DR D","date":"January 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Today is January 20th, 2025, Inauguration Day, which, by all accounts, should be a peaceful turnover of power from the current democratic president to a recycled republican president (yes, the lower cases are intentional). It would be really nice, if we could say this is the 46th peaceful turnover of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/archives\/category\/life"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150703_121740-e1435963001338.jpg?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150703_121740-e1435963001338.jpg?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150703_121740-e1435963001338.jpg?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15061,"url":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/archives\/15061","url_meta":{"origin":2711,"position":3},"title":"In-Decision 2024 \u2013 Presidential Election 2024","author":"DR D","date":"October 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, my cat was telling me to start writing again.\u00a0 So, to shut him up; I\u2019m stealing the name of a segment from the \u201cDaily Show,\u201d as I\u2019m sure you\u2019re aware, it sums up this year\u2019s election cycle quite nicely. As you all know, one of the primary purposes of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/archives\/category\/politics"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/2013-11-05_08-28-25_109.jpg?fit=688%2C689&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/2013-11-05_08-28-25_109.jpg?fit=688%2C689&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/2013-11-05_08-28-25_109.jpg?fit=688%2C689&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1136,"url":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/archives\/1136","url_meta":{"origin":2711,"position":4},"title":"My way or the highway pal!","author":"DR D","date":"October 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, as the US Government shutdown continues; we need to pause and reflect. All I can think of is: \"How the hell did this happen?\"\u00a0 The more I think about it, the less and less I feel it is a democrat vs. republican (lower case intentional) problem.\u00a0 I'm beginning to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/archives\/category\/politics"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1102,"url":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/archives\/1102","url_meta":{"origin":2711,"position":5},"title":"Happy 237th Birthday America!!","author":"DR D","date":"July 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Good morning.\u00a0 Yesterday was a great birthday party!\u00a0 Had burgers and dogs on the grill all day, good friends; talked politics...it's what the fourth is all about. What did you all do yesterday?\u00a0 How did you celebrate our nations independence? What do you think 'ol George would think of America\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/archives\/category\/politics"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2711"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2711\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2714,"href":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2711\/revisions\/2714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}