Unmotivated Voters by Tom Rood
Why is the 2026 mid-term election important? For starters, every House of Representatives seat in Washington and every seat in the NY State Legislature is up for re-election. The party in power tries to hold and gain more seats while the party out of power turns heaven and hell over to flip enough seats to regain power. This is going on now and will intensify right up to November 3rd.
In a mid-term election it’s easier to flip seats; if you can get just a few more voters to the polls you can win. Ask AOC.
Why is this possible? Historically, in Mid-Term elections in New York State, only about 29% to 42% of registered voters turn out. That means thousands stay home while their missing vote is, in effect, an extra vote for the opposing side.
Even in presidential election years we see vast numbers of registered voters staying home. The historical NYS voting participation rate averages from 53.5% in 2012 to 61.1% in 2020.
As an interesting side note, in 2020 during the Biden- Trump election, there were 20.3% of the total votes cast as mail-ins. In 2022 that dropped to just 6.5%. Makes you wonder how many votes might have been voter fraud in Biden’s win?
For either party, it’s a glorious day when a hand-full of new voter registration forms are turned in and it’s also a glorious event for America. But there is a missing point, that I have tried unsuccessfully to alert people to, on this issue. While we are out trying to recruit a few who never registered to vote, there are tens of thousands who are registered and never vote or rarely vote. Those are the ones we need to reach.
The key is motivation. We cannot motivate people; we must find a way to get people to motivate themselves. We can do this with information. I cannot think of any other way.
For instance, the usual word we hear is: “My vote won’t count.” But the last Village of Penn Yan Mayoral contest was decided by just a couple of votes. I know of a NY Legislature seat that was decided by 6 votes. Another race wound up being decided by a coin toss in the Board of Elections office. We do not know which races will be close. And for Heaven’s sake, never trust pollsters or news media or social media when deciding whether to vote or stay home.
This year, as never before, we need every gun owner to vote. Nationally, I read that 31% to 32% of Americans own at least one gun. I am sure that low percentage has to do with inner city people not owning a gun and pulling the average down. At the same time, it is reported that 42% to 44% of Americans live in a household that has at least one gun.
Gun rights and even hunting and fishing rights (Oregon) are on the line. I can’t remember all the many many many anti-gun bills that are floating around Albany just waiting to get out of committee and to the legislature floor and then to the Governor’s desk. Some of them are real doozies. Check out SCOPE’s ‘10 Most egregious.’
The bottom line: how do we get people to vote who, for whatever reason, decided to stay home?
The only way you can protect your lifestyle is to vote. The more of our people we can get to the polls the more our legislators in Albany might start listening to us; when their job is on the line they listen. Talk it up to your family, friends and co-workers about the importance of getting out to vote. It isn’t about party-lines, it’s about your rights and what you want for your family. Sitting on the sidelines allows those who want to control your future to remain in elected office. Who do you want to represent you? Keep informed so you know who to vote for; who best works for you and your ideals.
