Yesterday, Massachusetts voters selected Martha Coakley and Scott Brown to represent the Democratic and Republican Parties in the January 19 special election to fill Senator Kennedy’s vacant seat in the United States Senate.
This race is incredibly significant for our state.
The victor will spend the next two years filling out Senator Kennedy’s unexpired term and working on some of the most important issues facing our nation – and in the process, he or she also will be positioned to run for a full term as an incumbent in 2012.
That’s why I am disappointed that more voters did not seize the opportunity to vote in yesterday’s primary. Early numbers suggest that only about 600,000 voters in the state, or about 15 percent of the total electorate, bothered to show up at the polls.
I think there are several factors behind this. First, it’s always difficult to encourage people to vote in special elections, especially in ones like this that happen around the holidays. Second, this particular campaign was under a compressed time schedule, and its outcome seemed predictable to many. Third, I think many people found there to be little policy difference between candidates on the Democratic side, and therefore little compelling reason to go to the polls to support one over the other.
January 19 is the next opportunity for people to voice their opinion on not just the two competing candidates but also the direction in which our country is heading. People who think the country is heading in the right direction and who want a continuation of the same will probably vote for Coakley, while those who are frustrated by the status quo and who are seeking a change in direction will vote for Brown.
But whatever their preference, I hope that more people will get out and vote on January 19.
Did you vote yesterday? If so, what interested you in the race? If not, why not? Please post your thoughts below and let’s get a discussion started.
