Use Your Vote As a Voice

Next Tuesday, November 8, New York City’s voters will go to the polls to elect a mayor. You’ve probably heard from a number of sources the importance of voting. It is the primary requisite of a democracy: the people elect their own leaders. But you’ve also been told that the race isn’t close, the decision already ordained. So why bother to vote?

The turnout in this election will be closely watched. Politicians always keep track of who votes and who doesn’t. Will communities of color go to the polls in heavy numbers? What difference will it make?

Ballot Box Clout

A large turnout in communities of color will get the attention of the candidate elected mayor as well as members of the City Council – many of whom are on the ballot on Tuesday – and the media. The political influence wielded by a voter bloc, a community with likeminded values and concerns, is in direct proportion to its clout at the ballot box.

In the latest survey (PDF) released by the Community Service Society, low-income New Yorkers expressed their dissatisfaction with the way things are going in the city. They feel that the city is seriously off on the wrong track on issues of housing (84% wrong track), jobs/economy (77% wrong track), health care (71% wrong track), and the public schools (61% wrong track).

Yet when asked whether they are going to vote in the mayoral election, only 31 percent of low-income New Yorkers say they are almost certain to vote. In contrast, 62 percent of higher income respondents say they are almost certain to vote. Obviously, many low-income voters do not see a connection between voting and getting politicians to pay attention to their concerns.

Act of voting
sends a message

This is a city where 40 percent of black men are jobless, where over 170,000 of our young people are neither in school nor in the job market – disconnected from any structure that could provide them with a future – in the only large city that saw an increase in poverty in the last year. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 1.6 million New Yorkers are living in poverty. In our latest survey of low-income New Yorkers, acquiring job skills through training and education was seen by all income groups as the best way for government to help poor families get ahead.

The jobless situation in the city is directly linked to the failure of our schools to properly educate our children. New funds from the court decision in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity case will help, if they are used efficiently. Already there is talk of dividing these funds across the board, instead of targeting them to where they are most needed – in the poorest, worst performing schools.

School construction should be a priority of the next administration. Crumbling buildings and overcrowded classrooms only further impede students’ struggle to get a decent education. Reducing class size was the top priority mentioned in our survey by all income groups for improving the quality of education.

Critical Mass

If low-income New Yorkers ever have a hope of getting public officials to respond to their needs, it will be when their votes reach a critical mass in an election. No matter who wins or loses any one election, the act of voting sends a message to an elected public official: We are watching you. If you help us, if you respond to our concerns, we will reward you at the next election. If you ignore us, you do so at your peril. We will remember come next election day.

Next year, there will be elections for governor, U.S. senator, and Congress. The candidates in those campaigns are most likely to address the concerns of groups of voters who have turned out in large numbers in prior elections. A heavy turnout next Tuesday is imperative if people of color are to hear their issues discussed and debated by these candidates.

CSS President David R. Jones hosts the CUNY-TV show, “The Urban Agenda,” broadcast on Channel 75 on the third Wednesday of every month at 10 a.m., 3 p.m., and 8 p.m., and rebroadcast on the following Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m.

From the New York Amsterdam News
November 3 - 9, 2005