It hasn't been that long since some of the folks was hollering about voter suppression, and how the white Republicans were attempting to stop black folks from voting.Where were they during the last election? I had no problems, showed them my driver's license, went and voted,meanwhile, the "there's a racist behind every tree" group,were very quiet!
Signs point to low turnout for Atlanta elections | www.myajc.com
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Posted on October 23, 2013 4:52 PM by Todd Rehm
In a few weeks, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed — barring a November surprise — is expected to stroll into office for a second term.
With the exception of three tightly contested races that are still up for grabs, each of the remaining 13 members of the city council, including council president, are also expected to breeze back into office. Five of them are not facing any opposition.
All of it sets the stage for a rather sleepy election.
Gwendolyn Jackson-Porter votes inside the Fulton County Government Building in Atlanta on Tuesday, October 10, 2013. Voters were voting early for … read more
Two measures of enthusiasm among voters – new voter registration and early voting – indicate a low-turnout election is on tap. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reviewed voter registration data that shows fewer voters are signing up compared to previous elections.
Michael Leo Owens, an associate professor of political science at Emory University, who teaches a seminar on race and politics in Atlanta, said this year’s elections “reflect a general disinterest or disgust in municipal politics.”
“Also, because most of the council races are district seats, few care about district races that don’t involve them,” said Owens. “We know from surveys that voters, albeit not just in the city of Atlanta, are generally distrustful of their politicians in Georgia.”
The reason for the decline in voter turnout, said Owens, who also teaches courses on urban politics, is because campaigns are failing to mobilize people, coupled with a lack of fresh new candidates.
“Turning it around requires good candidates and real efforts to engage voters around them and issues,” Owens said. “There also needs to be a clearer understanding among the local electorate that local elections matter as much as state and national ones. Plus, novelty doesn’t hurt. That’s a reason why the 2009 mayor’s race was kind of cool and fascinating down to the wire.”
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