South Dakota: The Purple State?
Cheer Up Carla! Your Vote Absolutely Counts
I was volunteering downtown at our fabulous Brown County Democratic Headquarters on Main Street Aberdeen and in walks Carla, looking a little forlorn. She asks me if she can get a Biden and a Dan Ahlers (our State Senator candidate) sign. I bubble with enthusiasm, “Of course!”
She turns to me and says,
“Does my vote really matter?”
In my head, I wince because I feel her pain, but I tell her, “YES, your vote matters. Let me show you why and how.”
I begin to explain to Carla that it is in the “other’s” (whether that be the opposition, the Russians’, your family’s, your Facebook feed, the media, whoever your bogeyman is) best interest to make you feel like your vote does not matter in the scheme of things. That is their goal. To wear us down. To discourage us. To defeat our spirit.
I take her over to my laptop and show her the evidence. I pull up the public data every citizen has access to at the State website. I tell her the data will surprise her. (And it does!)
Not a lot of South Dakotans know that there are more registered Democrats and Independents here than there are Republicans. Here are the facts: As of today’s voter registration totals, here is how it breaks down:
I tell her that in the Midterms, only two years ago, and our most recent election, Democrats came out in droves to vote in the gubernatorial campaign. In fact, the rising national GOP star, barely won by 11,500 votes, and from what I hear, many in her party voted against her. I showed her how Brown County (our County, and all adjacent counties in the northeast of South Dakota) went BLUE.
Population concentration in South Dakota is mostly in these blue belts, where most of the people live. It’s the same all over America. Land doesn’t vote. People do. And the more people who vote in South Dakota, the more fair representation we can have in Pierre. I then launched into my pitch for our local candidates who want to do just that — represent the people’s voice.
All in all, it was a fun lesson in civic enlightenment and inspiration.
Later this week, Carla sent me a note that someone stole her sign and she would be back for another one. She thanked me for sharing the state data with her. I hope I’m there when she returns.
