I turned 20 this year, and this may be one of the most memorable and strangest years of my entire life. 2020 is going to be one for the books. From a global pandemic to a recession and a national reckoning on race relations, it is only deserving that it will culminate in a presidential election that also is bound to break records.
With the preponderance of mail-in ballots, more than 4 million already cast, as well as the fact that absolutely nobody can deny the importance of this election, we are headed to a record-breaking national turnout.
In 2016, more than 13,614 ballots were left blank, while only 28 votes made the difference between winning and losing
Record turnout, however, is nothing new for Falmouth; we vote and take pride in doing so. Our town consistently votes at a rate up to 50 percent higher than the national average during presidential elections; this is something we should take immense pride in. However, far too often we vote for president and forget to consider down-ballot races. In just the (extremely competitive) 2016 race for county commissioner, which elected Mary Pat Flynn and Ron Beaty, more than 13,614 ballots were left blank, while only 28 votes made the difference between winning and losing in Falmouth.
I’ll repeat that: 13,614 ballots left blank, while 28 votes separated the winner and loser in our town.
Nobody can blame us for overlooking these less-shiny races. But we cannot allow this to happen again. More than the United States, Cape Cod is at a crossroads. No matter how loud and distracting the top of the ticket might be, neither candidate is going to do anything tangible to prevent our region from being more and more inhospitable to our youth, neither candidate will fight to keep a maternity ward in our town, and nobody in Washington will put in the work to prepare Cape Cod for the imminent effects of climate change.
The officials that we can put in a position to set politics aside and focus on what matters to our town are running for local positions such as Barnstable County commissioner and Barnstable Assembly of Delegates.
When the water isn’t choppy and the ship is on course, go ahead and trust the captain. However, when you start to notice that you don’t like the direction you’re traveling in and for some reason everything is a lot more turbulent than it should be, it’s time to make sure you know who is in charge of your ship.
When you start to notice that everything is a lot more turbulent than it should be, it’s time to make sure you know who is in charge of your ship
Most of us are going to get our ballot in the mail, so I implore you, take the time and Google the candidates. Regardless of whom you end up supporting, make sure they stand for what you stand for. Not only will these candidates affect you and your neighbors more than anyone in Boston or Washington ever will, but, in turn, your support of them is going to make much more of a difference in the outcome of the race.
I know I was not old enough to vote four years ago, but if you voted and skipped the down-ballot races (like most of us did), then this is the opportunity to change that. Because four years from now, it may be too late to save some of the things that matter most to us.
