Margaret Bauer’s article, “Don’t Mess with Missouri,” rightly asserts that individuals should be well informed about the issues before voting, but the League of Pissed Off Voters would like to take a minute to break down some of her more contentious points. Bauer’s rhetoric tries to persuade young people to silence themselves and not participate in local elections despite the fact that local politics directly affect young people with issues ranging from tax rates to ability to receive financial aid to the enforcement of civil liberties laws.
The local voter guide the League published, as did 50 other organizing groups in cities across the nation, encourages researching candidates, engaging in the political process, and finally, voting. The League is not about to “really screw up our local elections” by participating in the election, voting and reading up on candidates. Why is “screwing up” equated with having an opinion and being pro-active? We believe casting informed votes on Nov. 2 is critical to maintaining democracy in this wonderful country.
Bauer claims that many of us are not qualified to vote for local races because we will not be here to see the results. Such is the nature of being young. We are transitory and few of us know when we will live in a city for more than four years.
We live in St. Louis now, and we can and should engage with the politics where we are. We’ve seen the neighborhoods around the University undergo drastic changes, read about the public health crisis in the Riverfront Times and put up with the famously unpredictable weather.
Since Bauer claims to know the primary concerns of most Missourians, perhaps she should mobilize them. Make sure they vote. Give them literature on the elections-their votes count too. But there is no need to ask us undergrads to refrain from voting in local elections.
Our guide is obviously not nonpartisan: “Progressive” is written on the front. We are young, pro-choice, pro-public education, pro-gay rights and pro-empowering ourselves. The research for the guide is professional, thorough and serious. The guide uses casual language because it is meant to appeal to all young people, not just political junkies and political science majors.
We want people to know who their representatives are. It is not a lie that Matt Blunt is anti-affirmative action or that Bekki Cook supports a woman’s right to choose and funding public schools over stadiums. Voting based on such issues cannot be rendered irrelevant.
Issues such as gay marriage and a woman’s right to choose, which Bauer deems “whatever heady issue interests you most,” affect our entire nation. The constitutional ban in Missouri on gay marriage that passed this past August affects other states. Additionally, gay marriage and a woman’s right to choose are issues worth fighting for. We are grateful that our parents’ generation saw civil rights granted to people of color in our country so that today we do not have to struggle to right such extreme social injustices. Today, the rights of women and homosexuals are likewise screaming for our support. Anyone with any opinion on these issues should take their anger and knowledge to the polls.
The purpose of our voting guide is to show politicians that informed young progressives are paying attention. The idea is to simplify the electoral process and make it usable and engaging.
When you join our voter bloc you agree to vote for the slate of candidates we endorse. The voter bloc allows us to hold our candidates accountable by showing them that we young progressives comprise a population that will be the margin of victory in many local elections and to create a community that goes beyond Nov. 2. When we check our lists with voter files after the election we can show that our organized support got certain representatives elected and can just as easily get them out of office if they do not stick to their stated intentions.
The real work starts Nov. 3, and we will continue to participate locally and vote until there is a progressive governing majority in our lifetimes. Join the bloc and amplify your voice: www.indyvoter.org/stlouis.