Election Day in Baltimore

Don't Believe the Hype: VOTE!

I've talked to so many people whom I love, admire, and trust about the upcoming elections. Many of them are adamant about the ambiguity of our vote. They say, "Why vote the lesser of two evils" They say, "Our vote doesn't really count....look at the Presidential elections!"

Yet, I watch the news on television and hear mostly white candidates talk openly about how they need "poor, Black voters" to make the difference in the polls this election. Who knew? Maybe who knows is the question I should be asking. Is this message really getting across to the people who need to hear it? Or are people benefiting off of the apathy of others? I mean if "poor Black voters" make up a significant block of votes in this election could it mean that their vote could be a possible wild card - guiding the votes in a direction that is contrary to the leading Democrats and/or the Republicans?

This Election Day is sure to be one that will go down in the history books! Will the White youthful "family man" with the charming Black man as his running mate beat out the older White "family man" with the visually impaired, White woman as his running mate? Will the unspoken statement of race matters beat out the unspoken statement of disabilities support or vice versa?

Will this election turn out the second Baltimore City Mayor in history to become the Governor of Maryland? Will this election result in another Black Lt. Governor or will it turn out the first woman - with a disability no less - to serve as Lt. Governor of MD? Will the current Lt. Governor become the first Black U.S. Senator in Maryland or will this election return our current U.S. Senator Ben Cardin to office? Will the Black middle class vote mirror the vote of low-income Blacks or will the vote of low-income Blacks override the vote of the Black middle-class and set the stage for change in this election?

As I prepare this morning to head out to the polls in my old neighborhood because the change of address form I submitted during the primary election was not turned in by election workers, I wonder what other small glitches will impact today's election results. I wonder how I could live in a country which spends billions of dollars annually to ensure that other people of the world have the right to vote, but our elections are in such a disarray. I wonder how many people are so disgusted with our election process that they make a conscious decision to stay away from the polls. I wonder who really benefits out of all of this, and I wonder at the end of this day which candidates will be the last ones standing.