Blog Post for 4/6

I think the Hayter reading was really interesting and really gives insight into how local people can have an impact on the national level with his focus on voting policies. Despite all of the stress put on voting in your elections and your civic duties as citizens of getting engaged in your local and national politics, there is this harmful idea that your vote does not count or make a difference. But as Hayter points out through his Richmond example, people have the ability to generate change and push progress forward. I think back to the November’s election with so many questions over the legitimacy of local and national elections. It was very evident to see how the results were questioned, especially in states like Georgia, when looking at the statistics it just goes to show the power of people showing up to vote (many of those new voters being  minorities which have had their voices denied in the past). With the new Georgia voting law, we are seeing the rise in people supporting companies pulling out of the state like with the MLB moving the all-star game out of Atlanta. With legislative bodies having the power to limit people’s voices and make the final decisions in the end, it is so important to not forget the power that voters and organizations can have in these decisions as well.

2 thoughts on “Blog Post for 4/6

  1. Madyson Fitzgerald

    This reading definitely reminded me of the argument that comes up every year that convinces people that one vote doesn’t make a difference. Of course, we do have to be realistic — a vote isn’t going to directly stop police brutality and clean the environment in one sweep — but this article shows how on a large-scale, it can really create change.

  2. Celia Satter

    Hayter’s article also made me think of how people think their one vote does not make a difference. More specifically, it makes me think of the election of 2016, where a lot of people did not vote, in my opinion, because they thought their vote would not matter and Clinton would just win.

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