[McLemore] Red and Blue Quandary

by Dylan McLemore
August 22, 2007

If college has done anything for me, it has piqued my interest in politics. This year for the first time, I truly invested in the state and local elections. I researched candidates; I even braved the heat and humidity of the Neshoba County Fair to hear some good ole mudslinging and eat watermelon.

It seems, however, that my knowledge of this year’s issues only takes me so far. To be a part of the political process in Mississippi, you apparently must be full-fledged blue or red, and do most of your thinking in the past.

Voter ID is my first quandary. From what I hear, there is quite a bit of opposition to the proposal, rehashing memories of the old poll taxes and preventing the poor from voting.

Showing ID is commonplace in today’s society. I have to present some sort of identification to pay for a T-shirt, get my contact lenses from Wal-Mart and to go inside any building on Commerce Street. I’ve never once felt intimidated by that Wal-Mart optometry cashier. The Mississippi Voter Registration Application requires a driver’s license number, Social Security number, picture ID, bank statement—identification that proves you are who you say you are. Voter ID is not a literacy test or a tax. It is not alienating your right to vote. It is ensuring that your right to vote is not compromised; that your vote is really your vote. Right?

Already thoroughly puzzled, I drove up to my polling place Tuesday as a moderate with no home. After seeing the boxing match that was Charlie Ross and Phil Bryant, I wanted to have a say in the tightest, most-talked-about statewide election. For secretary of state, there was Inglebert Hosemann, but what’s in a name? Maybe Jeffrey or Mike lacked a humorous commercial, but made up for it in policy.

But none of that really mattered anyway, because I live in Hinds County, where the Democratic primary is the election. In my own backyard, Mayor Frank Melton was trying to control the entire county with Tyrone Lewis as the Cowboy’s sheriff. The district attorney’s race was a tight one, and again, I wanted to make sure the candidate who was not in Melton’s corner came out victorious. Not to mention some notable state races, like secretary of state, where there was a young guy with some good ideas, and insurance commissioner.

I do not vote by party lines; it’s about the individual candidates. I vote where the races are. I vote where my voice is needed the most. This year, the biggest state election was on the Republican side, but the biggest local issues were on the Democratic side. So I had to choose. I cringed as I realized that a party affiliation would be stamped by my name, ignoring my personal views, labeling me. But I chose, and I voted. Better to be half-heard than not heard at all.

Soon, Mississippi’s primaries will be completely closed. Picking a side will mean far more than a year-to-year decision to follow the close races. The label will stick. I think I am a fan of California’s old “buffet style” primaries, essentially a super sized general ballot. But in Mississippi, like too many other states, the “R” or “D” next to a candidate’s name means more than ideas or character.

Once our primaries are fully closed, I imagine I will lack that “glowing sense of pride and duty” JFP Assistant Editor Maggie Burks referred to recently in an editor’s note. My voice will be stifled. Maybe I’m just young and naïve, but something became very clear to me Tuesday. Closed primaries do far more to harm the voting process than bringing a plastic card with your name on it to the polls.

Dylan McLemore is a senior communication major at Mississippi College. Drop by and visit his blog.

posted by L.W. on 08/23/07 at 08:07 PM

posted by pikersam on 08/23/07 at 08:14 PM

posted by L.W. on 08/23/07 at 08:25 PM

posted by laughter on 08/26/07 at 10:23 PM

posted by Ironghost on 08/27/07 at 07:53 AM