Few decide much
The recent election had 36.4 percent of eligible voters registering their vote. With a simple majority of votes needed to decide the election, an astounding 19 percent of eligible voters decided the outcome.
All those who stayed away from the polls on Nov. 4 effectively allowed a one-fifth of the public to decide policy. How the talking heads and chattering pundits interpret this to be a mandate is dependent on similar results in successive election cycles.
I’m willing to bet the Republicans and Tea Party will squander their “mandate” as obstructionists, and reactionaries rarely offer solutions to real problems. Time and a hopeful decline in voter apathy will tell the tale.
Mark Livingood
Mill Run