10/29/15: High cost of staying home on Election Day

This op-ed appeared in The Virginian-Pilot on the date shown.

IN CASE YOU were wondering, Election Day is the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. That means it could be as early as Nov. 2 or as late as Nov. 8.

This year, it is Nov. 3, which happens to be next Tuesday. All 140 seats in the General Assembly are on the ballot.

Virginia’s legislature claims the distinction of being the “oldest continuous law-making body in the New World,” tracing its origins back to 1619. Its members are citizen-legislators, defined on the General Assembly website as “elected representatives that serve in a part-time capacity meeting full-time responsibilities.”

These legislators — our neighbors and friends — are entrusted with the responsibility of making decisions that affect the lives of more than 8 million Virginians.

They do so in a relatively short period of time — between planting seasons — in order to return home, where they live and work with the repercussions of their decisions and within earshot of their constituents.

Whether or not we agree with them, all of those who serve — or wish to serve  — deserve our respect and thanks. It is no easy task to choose to run for office.

It is hard, though, to give that respect when campaigns devolve into shouting matches about how bad the opponent is. That noise drowns out the seriousness of the job to which the candidates aspire.

If the attacks were policy oriented, they would be, at least, informative. But generally they are not; instead, they are just personal attacks, designed to reduce the opponent’s support while boosting their own. I think the same result could be accomplished by attacking an opponent’s policy positions, but it’s hardly as appealing.

Not that the news is much better.

Reporting on polling or the latest gaffe by a candidate is hardly news, yet it dominates what we hear. Better even, figure out a way to tie a candidate to something else — a disgraced politician or a party position — and there’s your story. Best of all, work in the “everyone does it” part and the story is a home run.

Is it any wonder, then, that voters have increasingly tuned out?

A recent paper points to a disturbing trend: While fewer voters identify with a political party, more of those who do vote only for that party, at every level. Partisanship, once just a flaw of federal elections, has reached far below.

This is perhaps the main reason why “The Virginia Way” no longer exists. There was a time, in the not-too-distant past, where Virginia’s legislators looked to put Virginia before party. It’s hard to believe party affiliation for General Assembly candidates wasn’t even on the ballot until about 10 years ago.

Voters knew the political parties of the candidates, of course. The lack of party identification gave candidates a reason to appeal to a broader electorate and voters a reason to vote for the person.

The lack of credible information about the issues, combined with party affiliation on the ballot, reinforces a system that makes politics and politicians far less honorable .

I urge everyone to vote Tuesday. If you have a contested race, cast your ballot for whom you believe deserves the honor to represent you — or write in a name. That’s also an option when there is only one name on your ballot and you’d rather have someone else, including yourself. (My apologies to the registrars.)

At the time the forerunner of today’s General Assembly was convened, most people had no say in the election. We pay homage to those who fought for that right  — for all Virginians — by participating in our democracy.