Black History Month is this month, but so are the primaries in South Carolina. Over the past few years, voter turnout amongst black people has been consistent. Within the past four years, the percentage of black people that have voted has been over 50 percent.
For every election, voting has been heavily encouraged throughout the black community. During the 2016 presidential election, the average percentage of black people that voted was 59.6 percent. In the 2012 presidential election, the black voter turnout was a whopping 66.6 percent.
Based on past voter turnout with black people, there’s a possibility voter turnout may increase or decrease. Whichever the case, since the South Carolina primary coming up on Feb. 29, it’s important for everyone, especially black people, to get out and vote.
Black Clemson and voting
Over the past few weeks, I asked a few African-American Clemson students if they were going to vote in the primaries and why voting is such a big deal to them.
Questions: Do you plan on voting during the primaries? In relation to voting, why is it such a big deal to you?
“I think I plan on voting. I just have to be reminded to be honest. In terms of why voting is important, I think everyone should take voting seriously. For me, especially as a young black female, two groups that had to fight for their right to vote and were denied every chance we got, I take it seriously!” Anjel Iriaghomo, a junior Animal Science major, said.
“I probably won’t be able to vote,” Camille Belton, a senior Sociology major, said. “However, it’s important [to vote] because my ancestors fought for me to vote. It’s my civic duty and I like to have a say in who gets elected.”
“I’m definitely going to go vote,” Khalil Keiths, a sophomore Political Science major, said. “It’s important to vote because you want to make sure that the person representing you is smart and well-rounded. Unlike the [censored] [censored] in the office.”
“I’m probably going to go vote,” Aaron Johnson, a freshman English major, said. “I’ll have to drive almost two hours to do so, but I’m going to go vote.”
Voting is something to be taken seriously if one wants to see change in their community. For the black community, there’s a lot that needs to be done to improve the environment and society they live in; voting is just one of the ways to do so.
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2017/05/voting_in_america.html
* Writer’s note: If anyone has a problem with going to their assigned voting area, whether it’s because of school, being overseas etc., they can vote absentee by applying for an application online and having the application sent to their current location.
