I look around to see what has been improved by my representatives on all levels, and then I look at the names on the ballot.
If the incumbent is listed and nothing has been accomplished, then the time has arrived to vote for someone else who has recognized the issues and the needs of the particular district. As an Independent on Primary Tuesday, a choice must be made concerning which ballot, Republican or Democrat, I select, and I make that decision based on the state and federal races. For example, in West Virginia, Gov. Jim Justice is running for a second term, but there are six other Republicans challenging his re-election. There are five Democrats, too, in the state’s gubernatorial race.
No matter my choices, the important thing is that I voted after educating myself on the races, the candidates, and the issues. By doing so, though, I am in the minority when it comes to the usual statistical information that is distributed post-election. A prime example of that fact is that only 9.8 percent of registered voters cast ballots for and against renewing the excess levy for Ohio County Schools.
That number, 9.8 percent, does not represent 9.8 percent of the residents of Ohio County, unfortunately. What it does represent are the folks who registered (about half) and the number of them who bothered to vote.
The excess levy passed, 1,900 to 950, and will provide approximately $19 million annually from a small portion of property taxes. There are approximately 40,000 folks who live in Ohio County.
On Tuesday, all voters will encounter a ballot with non-partisan races involving the Ohio County Board of Education (2 seats), Ohio County Magistrate, and the city of Wheeling’s municipal races in six wards (19 candidates), and for the mayor’s position (3). Hope is high the turn-out will be above average because of the important races and the expansion of absentee voting in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic.
On all levels, direction is what’s up for grabs and although it’s true that most folks care only “about their own backyards,” there’s nothing wrong with that because what you see from there or from the front porch counts as much as anything.
That’s because every Election Day is about leadership that should filter all the way down to you.
