The overwhelming majority of eligible Delaware residents have registered to vote. However, most Delaware registered voters, 57% in the last presidential election, do not vote. This is puzzling, though the Delaware Republican Party routinely makes it more difficult to vote by stonewalling efforts to increase access to absentee and mail-in voting, often with the expressed acknowledgment that increased voter turnout is bad for them.
Nothing that I write will persuade the 57% of no-shows to vote. I do not understand you, so I do not know how to argue with you. This letter is for the 43% of my neighbors who voted in 2020 (and any new voters).
It will be easy to drown in the flooded zone of partisanship this year and simply float away. However, do not become comfortably numb to politics. Take breaks from doomscrolling and screaming talking heads. Lift your heads from your phone and enjoy the company of your friends and family. But stay engaged over the long haul and take control of the messages coming at you. Figure out who wants to represent you, go to their website and pick a side.
Delaware and our country will work better if you are paying attention and if you act on your instincts by voting.
Also, when you vote, smile at your neighbors in line and thank the poll workers for their efforts. A polling place on Election Day is a monument to the freedom that we are lucky to have, and it should be celebrated.
Matthew Lynch
Wilmington
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
