JUDGE: Do your part this May - get out and vote

In the next few weeks, we have the chance to be counted – again!!

Early Voting for City, School Board, and an ESD Election are about to begin with Election Day being May 6. So, in the next few weeks you will be able to go out and make a difference in your communities and in the whole of Milam County. Please do, it is your chance to make a difference.

Typically, in off-year elections the voter turnout is low; I mean real low. Somewhere between 10-15 percent of the eligible voters turnout to vote. That means that only 10-15 percent of the people are making the decisions for the other 85-90 percent of the population.

I get tons of phone calls every week about a myriad of topics. Many times, folks call concerned, upset, or just downright ticked off at their elected officials. I will often ask them about those folks and many times after I ask them, they tell me they did not vote in that election. Not that they did not vote for that candidate or official, but that they did not vote – at all. The usual line is, “what difference will it make?”

Well in 2022 it made a huge difference as a Bond Election for the Cameron ISD passed by one vote. Out of well over 1,000 votes, it narrowly passed by one single vote. Ironically, the year before it had failed by four votes. For the record, which is how “every vote counts!” Either year, those few people who stayed home because they did not think it mattered could have actually swayed the election one way or the other.

Likewise, apathy for the political process is so great that even while people are extremely critical of the decisions made and the direction things are going, no one wants to participate in the process much less vote. As a result of the Cameron ISD Bond Election, the number of people happy about it is pretty equal to the many folks who are still not. The divide is still fairly huge on this issue; however, even with all the positive or negative on this subject, and with an election coming up for school board, no one came forward to challenge any of the sitting school board members.

In the next few weeks, the people of Milam County will have the chance to shape their school boards, their city councils, and to help determine the future of ambulance service in Milam County with a vote on the proposed Emergency Services District (ESD). I get calls, emails, texts, and questions everyday about all of these and I am happy to explain, but in the end, I always leave folks with the one task we all need to take seriously. Go out and educate yourself on who and/or what to vote for, and then go out and vote. 

Voting in America is sadly one of the least exercised rights we have. In other countries, elections are taken seriously, and people traverse any obstacle to get out and vote. We need that same exuberance here to make sure we are getting the government we need. If you do not vote, if you do not participate, then you may not get the government you want, but you will most definitely get the government you deserve. 

Please get out and vote!