Let’s all vote. ‘Bad politicians win elections because good people decide not to vote.’
By Corey Teague
Published: October 28, 2021
Over the past week, I have noticed some voter apathy within Passaic County but, more specifically, Paterson. I want to encourage everyone to vote between now and Tuesday, November 2, 2021.
We have the right to be disappointed and still vote. We have the right to be angry and still vote. We have the right to demand change and still vote because our vote is our voice.
When you choose not to vote, you allow those who count on you not voting to hold their seats perpetually. Put another way; bad politicians win elections because good people decide not to vote.
We mustn’t allow our destiny for who’s in office to deter us from voting. There is a solution, and that is to vote for someone else if you see fit to do so. But I implore you to exercise your right to vote because it is a right that you shouldn’t willingly abdicate.
There is too much on the line for us to sit home and not vote. We must make every effort to use our collective electorate power to make the necessary changes we want to see in our communities.
Our ancestors (not all, but a great deal) suffered and even died attempting to vote in the South. That’s not an unproven postulation. My great-grandfather died steps away from a voting booth in Alabama in 1957 despite a law being passed in 1870 which “allowed” black men to vote without being targeted.
New Jersey was one of the last states to abolish slavery; read that again. Let’s not kid ourselves, and we have the power if and when we ever choose to use it. Don’t be discouraged by naysayers. If we want things to change, we can change things.
I have faith that we will get to the place we want to be, but it will take the collective efforts of the entire community to get this accomplished. So, between now and November 2, 2021, Get Out the Vote!
Written by school board member Corey Teague.