We believe that if poor and marginalized people voted in proportion to their numbers, we would have an entirely different local, state and national agenda.
The more than XX Memphians who live in poverty have little voice in this democracy. Many vote infrequently or not at all. This is not an indictment, but a byproduct of decades of disenfranchisement. Since low-wealth and marginalized communities typically have little money or political clout, they can easily be—and usually are—written off by politicians. But if they decide to use the power of the ballot box, they can change the way this country works—both for themselves and everyone else.
We believe that the basis of a truly democratic society is an engaged and informed electorate. One indicator of this engagement is voter turnout, which in Memphis has averaged between 17% and 62%, with the lowest turnout for local and the highest for presidential elections. People are disenfranchised and therefore disengaged from the political process, particularly in low-income and marginalized communities. But it is not just our communities that have disengaged; our elected officials themselves have disengaged from the democratic process. Simply put, whether looking at race or class, the interests and needs of low-income and marginalized communities are given little to no attention by those in power.
This Thursday the 2011 City of Memphis municipal elections will take place from 7AM until 7PM all across our city. The Memphis Mayor, members of the Memphis City Council, the City Court Clerk and City of Memphis Judges will be on the ballot and asking for your vote.
This election season will have far reaching ramifications on the future direction and priorities of our city on issues of HOMELESSNESS,BLIGHT, URBAN POVERTY and PRIVATIZATION of city services among others. So, it is crucial that our community comes out in big numbers to make our voices heard at the polls.
Sadly, voter turnout this year has been at a historic low. At the conclusion of early voting last Saturday a total of 29,431 residents of Memphis casted votes in this election. That represents a mere 7.4% of registered voters within our city. This is shameful and disheartening but it also means that YOUR VOTE has never been more valuable
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PEOPLE FIRST is an MSPJC supported partnership with residents and activists working in the Binghampton community to raise voter turn out during elections and assist in long term resident-driven grassroots community organizing after the elections end.
For the past month groups of activists and Binghampton residents have been canvassing door to door ,talking with residents and neighbors about the issues that they care about.
We know that you are working hard to ensure that your neighborhoods are healthy, thriving communities, but you don't have to do it alone.
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