“I am sick and tired of elections,” he said. “Mostly, I am tired of all the arguing and nobody really helping us out, just themselves. I don’t trust any of them.” 

He was an older man who had dropped by the Elections Office to, as he stated, “remove myself from the voter roll”. In no uncertain terms, he had made his intentions clear, and he was quick to complete the voter cancelation form we provided to him. He thanked us as he handed the form back across the counter and he was out the door.  

I could not leave well enough alone and quickly followed him outside. I stopped him and asked for more details about his reasoning.

He said, “I am an old man and I have never seen anything like all the fighting and nothing getting done. We have major issues facing the country and no one seems to care. We struggle daily while others just get richer.”

Now, at this point as an elections director, I am well versed in reasons why every legally qualified citizen should register and vote and I was not going to give up without a fight. “Well, if you are not registered, how do you plan to voice your concerns?” I asked.

“I don’t,” was his response.

“What about all the efforts of people who have given their lives to protect and defend the basic cornerstone of your right to vote from George Washington to the civil rights movement?” I continued.

“Well,” he said, “I understand what you are trying to do and I am not saying ya’ll do a bad job, but I just don’t want anything else to do with voting.”

My heart sank. “Is there anything I can do or say to change your mind?”

He gave a slight smile and said, “No, but thank you for trying. Good luck, son”. And with that, he was on his way.

I turned back toward my office door to go inside. I have never felt more like I failed in my job than that moment. I replayed the words in my head and pondered what I could have done to change his mind. I thought of all the people I had met over the years that had served in World War II storming the beaches of Normandy or struggling to survive the jungles of Vietnam or the marches on Washington to gain access to the ballot box without fear of intimidation. I felt I had failed them all. I could faintly hear the hammer and chisel strike at the cornerstone of democracy as another piece was broken away. 

Now do not get me wrong, not voting is a choice that everyone is entitled to make, although I believe it to be the wrong choice. 

President Lydon B. Johnson once said, “A man without a vote is a man without protection.” President Abraham Lincoln said, “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.” 

I believe in both cases the presidents understood how every citizen’s ballot is a collective opportunity to identify where our county, state and local governments should be headed according to the will of the people.  

As a voter, you may not always vote for the winning candidate. Heck, you may never vote for the winner, but it should never stop you from going back to the ballot booth the next time and the next time and the time after. Deciding to not vote is not a decision to stay neutral, it’s a decision to allow someone else to make decisions for you. If you don’t want to do it for yourself, do it for those who gave some or all of themselves so you could enter that voting booth and cast a ballot based on your convictions.    

Voting by mail has already started and will continue until November 1, 2022. Early voting starts on October 20, 2022, and runs until November 5 at 6 early voting sites. Election Day is November 8, 2022. There truly is no excuse not to vote. For more information, visit our website at elelctions.lenoircountync.gov. Or you can visit our office at 110 S. Herritage Street in Kinston.

Vote. 

Director Steve Hines

Lenoir County Elections