According to the secretary of state’s website, Alabama has 3.8 million registered voters. Yet, voter turnout was roughly 23% in the recent May 19 primary, meaning only around 875,000 people bothered to vote absentee or go to the polls.
Aside from one national office, this election was all about Alabama, determining candidates for the governorship, sheriff’s office, public service commissions, and board of education.
Does your child’s education matter? If so, this would have been the place to make your voice heard. The people in the city halls and state houses affect our lives greatly, even more than those in Washington, D.C.
There were also two amendments to the Alabama Constitution on the ballot. That means that 23% of voters decided these changes for the 77% that didn’t bother to show up.
I will never understand those who would rather complain than act. This election year, there has been no end to the kvetching and demands that we get rid of career politicians and fix our government. Yet, when citizens have the opportunity to do so, they don’t bother to show up.
This is abysmal and tragic. Races are often decided in the primaries, so why be apathetic?
Three top-of-the ticket races – U.S. Senate, Alabama attorney general, and Alabama lieutenant governor are headed to a runoff election on June 16 because people decided they didn’t need to show up. Had the 77% of the electorate bothered, those races would likely be decided. Instead, our tax dollars are going toward a runoff for which even fewer voters will show up. If people are unmotivated to show up for a primary, why will they show up for a runoff? This is how those invested in a particular outcome get what they desire. Voter apathy helps no one but themselves.
But it is a powerful testament to our representative republic when engagement happens and change gets enacted.
For example, the people of Lauderdale County decided that grassroots candidate Maurice McCaney needed to unseat State Rep. Phillip Pettus (R-Killen). Pettus has been in office since 2014, having 12 years to make changes that he promised, but apparently did not deliver. Discontent in that region was thick, so the people invested in change took the necessary action.
The result? McCaney won with 60% of the vote and is the first black person elected to represent Lauderdale County. This is after the Supreme Court decision on the Voting Rights Act that some representatives are claiming is Jim Crow 2.0.
This is also WHY primaries matter. There is no Democrat opponent on the ballot, so McCaney gets to take up his new role without another election.
When citizens invested in change show up to see it enacted, that change happens. When people sit on their backsides and complain, not bothering to show up, you get exactly what you didn’t vote for, with no one but yourself to blame.
District 60’s incumbent was also shown the door. Democrat candidate Alicia Escott Lumpkin defeated 16-year incumbent Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-Birmingham). When last we heard from Givan, she was being escorted from the State House during protests over the special session. She also went on social media to rant about U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas because of his vote and opinion supporting the majority decision on the Voting Rights Act. According to Givan and her ilk, black representation was being removed. Instead, it is Givan who is being removed for different black representation.
Since Lumpkin does not have a qualifying Republican challenger in this race, she also gets to take her place for District 60 in the State House without another election in 2026.
Primaries matter.
Lumpkin had this to say on her win:
This campaign has never been about politics as usual. It has been about listening to our neighborhoods, fighting for working families, believing in the future of our communities, and making sure District 60 has leadership that shows up and gets things done….
Tell me again, Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Hoover) how black representation is being destroyed? Sewell was screaming at black voters on Sunday to vote like their lives depended upon it. The citizens of Jefferson County apparently did this; it just wasn’t the outcome that Sewell and Givan thought would happen.
We all knew their protests were theater and clown world. May 19 was the proof.
We have June 16 to make further decisions and then the Nov. 3rd general election. Will Alabamians bother to show up, or will they let the 23% of citizens continue to do all the work and make all the decisions for us?
Jennifer Oliver O'Connell, As the Girl Turns, is an investigative journalist, author, opinion analyst, and contributor to 1819 News, Redstate, and other publications. Jennifer writes on Politics and Pop Culture, with occasional detours into Reinvention, Yoga, and Food. You can read more about Jennifer's world at her As the Girl Turns website. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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