Every vote matters! How to get voters to care.

I just read an interesting article in Flagler Live!,  "Lazy, Cheap, Irresponsible Palm Coast", about Flagler's election results.  The author, Pierre Tristam expresses his deep frustration with the dismal turnout we had in this year's general election.  Many of us are frustrated. We live in a county of about 95,000 people and 50,059 registered voters and Only 5,816 people voted.  That is Only 11.6% of registered voters.  That means 1 out of every 9 registered voters bothered to vote.  Were you that one?

If you're reading this, you probably were that one.  It is natural to feel frustrated or even angry that so many people didn't take the time to fill in two circles on a ballot.  But that won't help encourage more people to vote. So what can we do to ensure that this type of turnout never happens in our county again?


We need to start now and we need be well informed so that we can express in a clear, concise manner why it is so important for each and every Democratic voter to vote.  And here's how you do it:

Ask them to look up Flagler County elections on Wikipedia, this is what it says (chart included):

"Due in large part to its rapidly changing demographics, Flagler County is often an unpredictable county in presidential and other elections, although the general trend has been towards the Democratic party in recent years."

Presidential elections results

Year	Republican	Democratic	Other
2008	48.7%	50.2%	1.1%
2004	51.0%	48.3%	0.7%
2000	46.5%	51.3%	2.2%
1996	41.0%	47.7%	11.3%
1992	38.2%	40.9%	20.9%
1988	60.3%	39.4%	0.3%

Presidential election results in Flagler county have been determined by a margin of less than 2.2%  for the last three cycles.   Only 57% of the population voted in the last Presidential election.  We have the opportunity to really increase our numbers and sweep the county.

What if they're still not convinced that every Vote matters here in Flagler County?  Here is the reason each and every vote is matters. The results from this years General Elections:

City Council 1             55 Votes determined the winner.
Total Votes                 5693
William E. McGuire   2874   50.48%
Holsey A. Moorman   2819   49.52%

City Council 3            36 Votes determined the winner.
Total Votes                 5496
Dennis Cross              2730     49.67%
Jason DeLorenzo        2766     50.33%

It's pretty hard to argue with facts like that.  So, now what we need to do is get started early for next year,  while the recent election is still fresh in everyone's minds.  Explain to your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers how fast and easy it is to vote. Explain how close elections are in Flagler and why it is important that each and every registered voter makes his or her vote count.  Do it now. Do it today. Don't wait until next year.

Of course, there are new laws in place to discourage voters, that is another reason to get started early.  Let every voter know where they can vote and when. Let them know that things in Flagler have changed.  The link on the left, Voter information! has all the tools a voter needs to make sure they are ready for next year's elections. Tell them to check their status now to make sure they will be able to vote next year.

I choose to look at these elections results as a positive thing.  The facts speak for themselves.  Do you know people who did not vote?  Show them this page. Share the facts with them. Tell them to share the facts with their friends and family.  It's hard to argue that your vote doesn't matter when 36 people can determine an election.  Every vote matters!

Contributed by Trina Marleese Parham