Just to be up-front and honest with you, I am probably the last person that should be attempting political commentary. I do not follow candidates with avid worship or livid hate through their campaign sites or various news sources. I rarely follow politics at all, to be honest; I've found it just doesn't pay off.
I'm not the type to start political arguments or discussions with people, as I have learned the hard way that such talks usually bring out the worst in people faster than almost any other topic. It's kind of saddening, honestly, how the opinions of four people can polarize the nation into opposing, bickering camps.
It happens every four years, without fail. I remember the last presidential election back in 2012. I was under 18 by several months on Election Day, so I was left to spectate the first election that I was truly aware of and invested in. Well, I'm of age now. And I can honestly say that I never thought I would ever regret being so for an election. I never thought that I would be so willing to pass off my responsibility and individual power as an adult voter. Want to know why?
I've started to doubt that power actually exists.
For so long, I've been told that it's worse to not vote at all than to vote for someone you don't completely agree with. I'm sure plenty of us have seen this comic before:
This message is powerful and definitely true. An incredible power imbalance is created when large groups of people choose not to vote out of the delusion that their voices won't make a difference in the grand scale of things. In a fair and just system, this is absolutely the case.
The sad reality, however, is that we do not live in a fair voting system. Now, before you get twitchy, don't worry — I'm not even going to touch on the injustice and absurdity of the electoral college system. If you want to hear more about that train wreck, just watch this video. Adam Conover does a much better job of explaining this than I do.
However, I can and will talk about the embarrassment and social disaster that we're calling "The 2016 New York Primary." People have also written longer, more detailed articles about this issue, and you should absolutely read those as well. Please, become informed about the corruption and injustice within our voting system at the current time. Just try Googling "Brooklyn Voter Purge" and click on a link to get a better idea of what I'm talking about.
But back to the New York primary election. I can honestly say that I have not seen an election result so murky and so dubious as this one since what I've read and studied about the 2000 presidential election between Bush and Gore. The least of the problems with this primary were things like outrageously early voting and party change deadlines, as well as obscure and unspoken registration rules. The worst of the problems, such as polling sites opening late, malfunctioning voting machines and registered voters' names not showing up on registers when checked, are so unprofessional and embarrassing.
As reported by the New York Daily News and Mother Jones, More than 100,000 voters were mistakenly purged from the Brooklyn voter rolls ahead of the New York primary, which handed Hillary Clinton a much-needed win over Bernie Sanders. Diane Haslett-Rudiano, the chief clerk of the New York Board of Elections, was suspended "without pay, effective immediately, pending an internal investigation into the administration of the voter rolls in the Borough of Brooklyn," the agency said in a statement.
On the day of the primary, New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio, a Clinton supporter, said he’d heard of the "purging of entire buildings and blocks of voters from the voting lists." He said, "The perception that numerous voters may have been disenfranchised undermines the integrity of the entire electoral process." The voter purge was just one of several problems with the primary throughout the city. Voters also reported long lines, poll locations that didn't open and, in one case, an elections worker sleeping on the job.
I am honestly shocked at the travesty of this primary, especially during this year, when the true voice of the people is so critical to be heard. I have sat by and watched as this entire presidential election has been treated like a source of entertainment, a reality show.
This is something else entirely. This is more than the bad joke of Trump jumping back like a coward when something spooks him at a rally or when a bald eagle lashes out at his wig from space and melted Ken doll features. I don't even careifTrump has already bought out most of New York's elite and stamped his name all over New York City.
What happened in New York this past week during the primary was what should be the last straw in a long line of incidents of obstructed justice and suppression of the American people in our current voting system.
Alright, that's enough adult opinions out of me for now. If you need me, I'll be in my pillow fort reading Lord of the Rings.
P.S. — If you want to read more about what happened in New York, check out this article from The Week.
