Mar 2, 2019 · 10 min read –
“We do not have a government by the majority. We have a government by the majority that participates.” Thomas Jefferson
Everyone has a different perspective on voting here in the USA. Many I know enjoy the ritual of standing in line at the local polling station, chatting with their neighbors and pulling the lever for their preferred candidate or bond measure. Others, in the spirit of saving time will review their voting booklet at home, fill out their ballot and mail it in. And unfortunately, most in our country don’t care enough to do either.
For perspective, the 2018 California primary elections yielded 37% turn out and as an example, Los Angeles County only had 38 % vote. Note that these are registered voters, and doesn’t included people that could register and vote. The U.S. Census from 2014 calculated conservatively that over 21% of eligible voters in the country are not registered so can’t vote in an election. That’s over 1 in 5 people that don’t even register to vote in any elections that impact their social, financial and political life. State and local issues include everything from electing judges, school board representatives, passing bond measures and laws like whether ambulance drivers should get paid if “on call” during their meal and rest breaks.
There’s no reason for not being registered to vote. Political parties will canvas neighborhoods, stand in front of grocery stores to sign you up. In California, “Motor Voter” registration pushes that when visiting the Department of Motor Vehicles. One can vote by mail or at a local polling station. It’s easy and convenient.
To give an example of the power of a few votes: New York’s 14th district, wherein the 10 term incumbent congressman was upset in the 2018 primary election with a mere 13% voter turnout by an unknown 29 year old bar tender named Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Only 27,744 people cared enough to vote, out of 214,750 registered voters. Love what she stands for or hate what she espouses, nobody can dispute that she has made an impact on American politics.
To give another example of the power of a few votes: Colorado Springs, CO is in El Paso County. A 2018 bond measure for $180,000,000 for schools and an annual increase in district taxes of $16.2 million only had 17,166 voters pull the lever and 10,172 were “yes” and 6,994 were “no” votes. There are 31,701 eligible voters in the school district for this ballot item, so just over half decided the financial fate of commercial property owners for the next 30 years. One property owner I know saw their tax bill increase by $20,000 per year. And the property owner doesn’t reside in El Paso County, so had no say in the matter. There’s power in pulling the lever.
The Declaration of Independence was our forefather’s way of wanting a new type of government, in contrast to the monarchy of the King of England. They toiled for years drafting and redrafting the framework for our Republic. The U.S. Constitution structures the balance of powers, and creates a government of the people, by the people and for the people . Battles and wars have been fought, with lots of spilled blood, to grant to and preserve for our citizenry the right to choose their representatives in government. Fast forward to 1920 when women were granted the right to vote, per the 19th Amendment. And in 1965, the Voting Rights Act gave Negroes the right to vote, finally fulfilling the requirements of the 15th Amendment that was passed in 1870. At last, our country recognized everyone and gave every American citizen the right to vote for their representative and have a voice in their community.
“Someone struggled for your right to vote. Use it.” — Susan B. Anthony
One would think that as a country with the democratic process of voting for people to represent us in our local, state and federal governments, that it would be cherished, appreciated, respected and valued. Unfortunately, the numbers don’t reflect that as per the examples noted earlier with pathetic statics of participation. Different generations tend to have a varying interest in the process; Baby Boomers and those that were around during the Korean or Vietnam wars, or remember their grandparents from World War II understand the true cost in American lives that grant us liberty and freedom. This voting bloc can be counted on to participate at a high level. The younger generation, unfortunately, tends to let the world go on and often feel their vote won’t matter. Since civics classes have been stripped from our schools, there’s even less understanding for the process of how our government works, and even less appreciation of the value Americans possess with the right to vote.
Votes matters — look at Colorado Springs’ bond measure. Or, look at how few votes impacted a presidential election between George Bush and Al Gore in 2000 – a mere 537 plus 1 more punched chads (hanging or otherwise) would have put Al Gore in the White House and changed history.
I contrast the general apathy or lack of appreciation for the value and power of the vote as compared to those throughout the world who can’t have a say in their government. North Korea, Zimbabwe, or Cuba, anyone? What about all the dictatorships scattered throughout the world, particularly Africa? Countries with “democratic” or “republic” in their names will have a President “for life”. Huh?
Having grown up in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the early 1960’s, I can speak for those who have wished to vote but couldn’t. It’s been over 50 years since there’s been a legitimate election. President. Mobutu Sese-Seko pulled off a coup d’etat and took over in 1965 as President. He ruled with impunity till 1997. As a child I heard stories of an occasional opposition candidate for President when elections came about. Often he was killed, or threatened or imprisoned. Only 1 political party was allowed in the country. Another time I recall that they were going to have the citizens vote for the President. Voting spots were set up in our area. To make it easy, red tickets would be cast for the incumbent, and green tickets for the challenging candidate. For some strange reason, when the plane arrived with the thousands of ballots for our area, only red tickets were on the plane for distribution to the voters. The President declared victory with 99.9% support. Amazing.
In 1997 Laurent Kabila led a revolution and President Mobutu was exiled to Morocco along with the billions he’d taken from foreign governments and the treasury. Kabila’s tenure as President was short-lived as he was assassinated in 2001. Then, 10 days later, without an election, and contrary to the constitution, his 29 year old son, Joseph Kabila assumed power. Few people know that he isn’t a Congolese citizen. Reports conflict but while some say he was born in Tanzania, my sources say he is a Rwandan. He doesn’t even speak Lingala (and I do!). He was “elected” into office in 2006 and 2011 — both elections were full of irregularities and accusations of fraud. He thus retained power for over 10 more years. And when we saw he would be termed out in December 2016, he pressured the parliament members to modify the constitution to allow additional terms. Fortunately, the populace wouldn’t have any of that, and thus started rioting, burning the city and protesting the government in late 2017. Many deaths and injuries ensued as Kabila sent out the military and police to silence the protestors. At the 11th hour, leaders of the Catholic Church were able to broker a truce to push out the election a year, with the hope of it happening in an orderly and civil manner. But that wasn’t good enough, as Kabila tried to delay the election by declaring a census and redistricting of all the provinces; a process that could take years.
Fortunately, on December 30, 2018, the country was able to have a real election for President. There were 3 candidates to choose from. Thanks again to the Catholic Church that provided 40,000 stewards to watch the polling booths to ensure integrity. Each Congolese that voted knew that their vote would be counted. While there were post-election barbs being thrown about voter fraud or vote counting issues, (the Catholic Church stewards disagreed with the final result, actually), the final tally was accepted. The new, duly and democratically elected President Felix Tshisekedi took office on January 24, 2019.
I reached out to several friends of mine that I grew up with to get their thoughts on their first experience of having a real voice in their government with multiple candidates. These are men in their late 50’s who’ve yearned to have a say in who governs them. They’ve been subjects of a dictator-type government their entire lives. They never had a say in who would represent them. Their country, Democratic Republic of Congo has hardly been democratic, and even less-so a republic to them.
One friend reported the experience thusly:
I went to the polls to vote for my President today. It was a solemn day and experience. It weighed heavy in my heart and mind as I was able to feel the power and value of my vote. Upon voting, I returned home and spent the rest of the day in quiet contemplation and prayer. There was little talking amongst my family and neighbors as we all recognized the significance of this day for us citizens and for the country as a whole.
The heavy rains didn’t stop anybody from voting today. This time around, people remembered the previous elections, wherein now each person voted from their heart. Nobody was telling them to vote this way or that way. This time there wasn’t a shoo-in since there was a choice of 3. The bottom line was people liked the choices that would ultimately bring change. Many businesses opened late and closed early to allow their workers to cast their votes. The people truly hoped for a fair count and result.
People were happy to vote to bring change, as the Kabila regime was corrupt and had no regard for the common folks. The infrastructure has deteriorated all while money was going into the politician’s pockets. Others didn’t want to vote in this election because of the experience of the previous 2 votes in 2006 and 2011 which lacked any integrity and was a farce. Yet, since this election meant taking down Kabila’s power, they decided to vote. Most of the voting booths were fine, but I heard reports of other booths where people were strong-armed by Kabila’s people to vote for his favorite candidate.
It was a relief to be able to vote this time in relative peace in my area, yet there were scuffles and issues in other precincts. Many of the politicians and political parties have no integrity. Contrary to Christ’s example, I see that politics is unrighteous while Christ is righteous. One must follow God instead of following the corrupt leaders of our country, and for that leader to look out for the interest of the people is very difficult for him to implement.
What has the shenanigans of the politicians set for an example of our youth? They have seen the corruption. The 18–20 year olds were excited to cast their vote, but they didn’t trust the final tally that they didn’t believe was truly the will of the people. I will pray for them and encourage them so that the next election they don’t skip the process and risk that apathy prevail.
Another friend chose not to risk voting in the capital where he lived, but rather left for safer climes to vote. He feared the violence and destruction that would most likely ensue. Fortunately, throughout the country the violence and unrest was rather mild. Nonetheless, we Americans can’t imagine having to leave their neighborhoods for fear of violence at a polling station. His thoughts were as follows:
I did indeed vote in 2006 and 2011 for the first two elections of Kabila’s tenure. However, this 2018 election was different in that people were mobilized and organized with joy and hope because they were looking forward to a change in the regime. Furthermore, people were yearning for a true democracy to come to their localities and country. People were able to realize that one path towards change and democracy was that each person could vote for their choice.
The day of the election, it poured rain and caused mud everywhere. Yet, people had zeal to go vote, even in the rain. Even when it stopped, people stood in water and mud waiting their turn to vote. I watched the news of the election on TV, and it was evident that the people were determined to see a change. Some people fasted for the month leading up to the election. Each person’s vote was so valued in the eyes of the country. It was also a means and message of accountability and judgment to those that had not done their jobs well. It served to toss them out so they couldn’t continue their malfeasance and to give their jobs to someone else. Ultimately, one must remember that the people are the bosses of the politicians.
One candidate in particular was giving the women cloth to make skirts with so that they’d vote for him. One woman commented that she has only seen hardship in her life. She gets up at 4 am to go to market to sell stuff so she can pay for her kids to go to school. Therefore, she won’t use up her vote for someone that won’t help her. She will cast her vote for a candidate that will help fix the social condition of the Congolese people such that conditions improve and our children can get an education in good schools. That woman recognized the value of her vote.
“Voting is not only our right — it is our power”. Loung Ung
The people of Congo prayed for a peaceful transition of power. They finally felt valued for their participation. They cherished the opportunity to vote. It was a solemn occasion, and weighed heavy in their hearts. Too many had died trying to get their government to follow the constitution over the years.
The other concept which we here in the United States of America enjoy every 4 or 8 years is the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to another. There’s no violence or death as one President leaves office and another takes over. This concept is foreign to them. Seeing photos of many former presidents, together with their spouses attending a function, shaking hands, smiling and getting along is mind-blowing to my Congolese friends. Yet, it’s normal for us. The peaceful transfer of power. We Americans should be proud of our example in spite of our like or dislike of the incoming administration.
Many of us take for granted the power, privilege, consequences, value, responsibility and right to have a voice in our governance. I urge you, next time you fail to give the election process the respect it deserves, to think of the Cubans, North Koreans, and Congolese. They get it. We should too.
Congo Kid – Article # 4 – February 2019
Copyright © 2019 by Jeffrey W. Eales. All rights reserved. No portions may be reproduced or transmitted in any format without the prior written permission of the author.