I tell everyone: “Do vote; you must vote; a no vote or abstaining from the vote is a shoo-in for the politico no one would probably ever want to see in office, lest one become a victim to their oversight and rule.”
The election year in D.C. is very complex. Supporters of Initiative 83 collected tens of thousands of names to put forth a referendum to make the voting process more equitable. Our current system was designed almost four decades ago and has outlived its transparency, fairness, and good faith in the principle “of the people, for the people, by the people.” We are a one-sided, one-party electorate ruled by the D.C. Democratic Party. Its members feel, it seems, that it is okay for the majority of registered voters not to have a “say-so by vote” in who is elected.
The second concern comes from principles of perceived ethnic stratification in the “used-to-be Chocolate City” and the unspoken folkloric mandate that all people of color, in particular Black people, must be Democrats. If you dare to be anything else, no bennies for you, and you can figure out what that means.
The third issue is that term limits were originally in the Home Rule Charter submitted to Congress. That requirement was withdrawn and has not been corrected. Outrageous that the will and mandate of and by the people are rendered null and void. Permanent power grabs are not democracies. One-sided dictatorships are definitely a little stuffy and suffocating.
To close I will say: please don’t give up. Keep voting, hoping for better to come and until we get it right. Our individual votes are powerful. We must choose to use the ballot box more often and more effectively. Go to it and just vote!