During the imperial age of China, those considered guilty of the worst crimes were sometimes sentenced to death in a public square for a brutal form of execution known as lingchi. The soldiers, with sharp blades, cut pieces of meat from the accused until they died. Translated, lingchi It means “death for a thousand cuts.”
Perhaps democracy dies in the dark, as journalist Bob Woodward suggests. Or perhaps the disappearance of democracy reaches daylight, in a public forum, where everyone can testify. Sometimes, those who support knives are oligarchs or elected officials soaked in corruption. And sometimes there is blood in the hands of people.
On Saturday, the voters in San Antonio, the seventh largest city in the country, are directed to the polls to decide the first open mayor race since the first mandate of President Obama. Or at least some voters will be.
In November 2024, almost 60% of the 1.3 million voters registered in the County voted in the general elections. However, in the local elections held last month, only 10% appeared to the surveys. Before someone begins to shed San Antonio, in Dallas the participation was even lower.
The dazzled participation in a “out of the year” is not new. However, the mayor's career in San Antonio has increased national interest because the result is considered a evidence of fire both for the strength of the resistance of the Democrats and for the appetite of the public for the policies of the White House.
Like other big blue cities located in legislatively red states, San Antonio's progressive policies have been under constant assault of the governor's mansion. And without the progressive candidate, Gina Ortiz Jones, nor her magician opponent, Rolando Pablos, eclipsing 50% of the votes in May, the runoff has drawn More than $ 1 million in campaign expenses From external conservative groups that seek to turn the strength traditionally blue.
The result could provide a possible vision of Mayor 2026 in Los Angeles, should The previously Republican Rick Caruso decides to run against Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat. When the two faced in 2022, about 44% of the city's registered voters went to the polls. Caruso lost for less than 90,000 votes in a city with 2.1 million registered voters, most of whom did not present a ballot.
It is quite surprising the little that we really participate in democracy, given the amount of dollars of taxes we have spent trying to convince other nations that our governmental system is the best on the planet. Chapter President Trump's unfused claims Of fraud of mass voters, many local elected officials have tried to claim a litany of “integrity of voters” policies under the appearance of protecting democracy. However, democracy is not a delicate flower that needs protection. It is a muscle that needs exercise.
“Some people find that the vote is a task,” Michele Carew, Electoral Administrator of Bexar County, which includes San Antonio. “We need to make the vote easier and, frankly, fun. And we need those who do not feel that their vote tells to see what it does. That means going out and talking to people in our neighborhood, in our churches, in our grocery stores … about when the elections are arriving and what is at stake locally.”
Carew said that the additional external interest in the city's elections has increased early vote and that he hopes to see approximately 15%participation, which is an increase in previous years. It could be worse. The city once elected a mayor with a 7% participation in 2013. Carew also expressed concern about external influence on local government.
“One of the first times that I saw that these non -partisan careers became more policies in 2020, so as time passes, it has become even more. I would like to think that once the candidate is chosen for the mayor, they are still not partisan and do the best for the city and not for his party.”
In 2024, a presidential election year in which the greatest participation would expect, 1 in 3 voters registered in this country, approximately 20 million people, took a look and said: “No, I'm fine.” Or something like that.
The greatest participation was in Washington, DC, where almost 80%appeared. Too bad it is not a state. Among the lowest participation rates? Texas, which has the second most excellent number of voters, only behind California.
And there lies the problem of trying to extrapolate the national trends of local elections. Maybe Ortiz Jones wins in San Antonio this weekend. Maybe Caruso wins in Los Angeles next year. None of this tells us how the vast majority of Americans really feel.
Of course, it is a good fodder to discuss around the table or in cable news programs, but ultimately, the sample of the choice of mayor denies any statement about the meaning of a result. Participation for a free year is too low.
One thing we know with certainty is that most voters in the United States exercise their right to vote only once every four years. Oligarchs and corrupt officials are not great, but it is difficult for democracy to stay healthy and strong if that is all the exercise.
@Lzgranderson
