I’d like to see the Montgomery County Democratic Party challenge the Montgomery County Republican Party to a Get Out The Vote contest. I’m working on drafting a proposal for the Central Committee to consider that outlines a contest between the 75 precincts in Montgomery County with the highest percentage votes for Hillary vs the 75 precincts with the highest percentage votes for Trump.
The competition would focus on increasing voter turnout as compared to the 2014 rates.
- The 75 Hillary precincts had a turnout in 2014 of 31.7%. Amazingly, there were 50,301 registered voters in these 75 precincts who failed to exercise their right and responsibility as a citizen to vote.
- The 75 Trump precincts had a turnout in 2014 of 43.3%. There were 43,610 registered voters in these precincts who failed to vote.
Think of it, in these 150 precincts there were 93,911 citizens who failed to honor their duty as a citizen to vote. Wouldn’t it be great if all of those citizens voted in 2018?
Of course a effective system of representative democracy requires more than simply voting. It requires for citizens to take seriously the office that they hold — the office of citizen — and to work to be well informed and meaningfully connected with other citizens. Rather than a GOTV, what would be better is a GOTICV — Get Out The Informed Citizen Voter. I’m trying to think through a contest design that rewards participants for efforts to inform and engage citizens.
