The record turnout of voters in the recent U.S. presidential election is a lesson in civic participation that all Filipinos could learn from.
Reports say two-thirds of Americans who were eligible to vote participated in the highest turnout rate in the U.S. since 1900.
The Philippines actually logged even higher rates of voter engagement in its past few elections. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) estimated voter turnout in the 2019 national and local polls at 75.90 percent. The 2013 midterm polls had a 77.31 percent turnout. The 2010 and 2016 presidential elections posted 74.99 percent and 81.95 percent turnout, respectively.
Presidential elections, which are held every six years in the country, usually have higher voter turnouts than midterm elections. Whether this would prove true in 2022 all depends on how the Comelec can safely hold the elections if the pandemic would still be raging by that time, as well as the year-long voter registration it is conducting, which has so far been disappointing, precisely because people are afraid to go out.
The Comelec estimated the number of registered voters for the 2022 national elections to be around 62 to 63 million, including about 4 million potential voters who need to get registered (the young people who have recently be-come eligible to vote) and about 1 to 1.5 million deactivated voters who can be reactivated.
Voting is the most important exercise of democracy. It is the only time people can have such a direct impact on the kind of government they would like to have, the only time perhaps when they can convey their sentiments directly to the politicians who govern them.
Each vote sends a message. Polls have said before that voters tend to go for the winners. But even if you vote for the losing candidate, you still would have let the politicians know what’s important to you. True, whoever wins in electoral exercises will have the power to impact your life but the losers are not entirely shut out. Their message is also heard, because the politicians keep track of who is and who isn’t voting. They pay attention to the issues and concerns that come out during the campaign season. If you give up your right to vote, if you shut yourself out from the electoral process, you lose by default. You would not be heard and that would be such a pity.
We Filipinos should teach the importance of voting as early as we can in schools because the success of Philippine democracy depends on getting as many of our citizens involved in the electoral exercise.
We must get our young people involved in the decisions that affect their lives. Even if they can’t vote yet, we must teach them the dynamics of voting in a democracy. We must teach them that their vote can determine the kind of life they will live, it can determine such vital things as how clean their air and water will be, or whether or not their families would be able to afford quality education and health care.
We should be teaching our kids how to make informed political decisions. Students must be taught how to dissect political ads. Billions are spent on ads every election. How are candidates using political ads to present and frame their messages? What emotions are they trying to arouse from voters to get their vote? Are their messages consistent with their track records?
Let’s teach kids how to analyze surveys. You don’t have to be a pollster or a statistical wizard to know what polls really tell us or if their results can be trusted. Polls are now a central, controversial and influential fact of Philippine politics and Filipinos should not be ignorant of its workings.
If we want to break away from patronage politics and dynasties, we should help our kids see beyond the flash and panache, to look deeper by reading or knowing the commitments and promises candidates and their parties make in their platforms. Have they delivered before? If not, why should we vote them again into office?
Media no doubt also plays a critical role in our electoral system. Students must be taught to look at the general patterns of media coverage in their classes. Does the media provide what people need to make informed decisions, or does it operate in a way that distorts or limits information voters need, thereby undermining democratic participation? Why do certain stories get in the news while others don’t? Why do certain events get covered while others are neglected? Citizens should not let media dictate their needs and wants. They should be proactive, self-conscious readers, listeners and viewers.
There may have been many voting irregularities and fraud in past elections. But the solution isn’t not to vote at all but fighting for your vote and voting better.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano