Editor’s Notes: Make voting a family tradition

Summerville Journal Scene

Mothers teach us lots of things. Mine taught me to vote.

From my earliest memories, I recall my mother serving as a volunteer election judge. The voting precinct for my neighborhood was my elementary school. So, on every Election Day, I could count on seeing my mother sitting behind a desk outside the principal’s office helping people cast their vote.

Election Day will be forever tied to memories of my mother and the lessons of civic responsibility that she taught me.

With primary elections upon us, I can hear my mother again reminding me to get out and vote.

Likewise, my father was the example that taught me the sacred nature of voting. Dad took a keen interest in elections and made sure I was a part of the voting process, often taking me with him as he marked his ballot.

His process of preparing for an election was almost ritualistic. He read newspapers, listened to the debates on the radio and television.

Dad almost always voted Republican, but he told me that I should understand the issues before I cast my vote for either party.

By the time I turned 18, voting had become almost second nature. It was a proud moment for both my parents to see me walk into the voting booth and pull that lever for the first time.

In today’s paper you’ll find a story by Lindsay Street about voters preparing to vote. The goal of the story was to find undecided voters and explore their thought process.

Berkeley County resident Aldo Napoli’s method seemed to be exercise of elimination.

“I’ve never not voted so I’m not going to start here,” he said. “I guess I’ll see whose left because they seem to be dropping out one by one.”

Napoli, like many of us here in the Lowcountry, has been bombarded with election rhetoric for the past few weeks.

That rhetoric will only escalate in the coming days.

The Republican primary election is Saturday and the Democratic primary is a week later on the following Saturday.

Results for each race should be available by late Saturday night.

Here at the paper, we’ll be watching the elections closely and we’ll be reporting throughout the day. Lindsay Street will be reporting from Berkeley County and Jenna-Ley Harrison will be reporting from Dorchester County.

Their coverage, of course will include statewide data as it comes in from Columbia.

You can follow their coverage all day Saturday online, by following both reporters on Twitter. Find Jenna on Twitter at @jlharrison_news. Find Lindsay at @LindsStreet.

Of course we’ll have a roundup of state and local results online late Saturday night once all precincts have reported.

South Carolina’s primaries are just the third to take place so far. As other states stage their primary elections, we’ll be watching closely to see who we’ll be voting for in November.

The nice thing about voting early in the process is that South Carolinians’ vote still matters. Of course every vote matters, but those states voting later in the primary process may feel less motivation as the races narrow.

Already we’ll see on the ballot the names of some candidates who have dropped out of the race. It’s important to understand that and know who you’re voting for before you go to vote. (Do you see how I am channeling my father there?)

Mother would say the same thing. She’s gone now and my old elementary school where she helped so many people fulfill their civic responsibility is now a Jewish community center. But last I checked, the voting booths still appear every Election Day.

If you’re a registered voter, now’s the time to show your children how to participate in the upcoming elections.

David Kennard is the executive editor of Summerville Communications, which publishes the Berkeley Independent, Goose Creek Gazette and Summerville Journal Scene. Contact him at dkennard@journalscene.com or 843-873-9424. Follow him on Twitter @davidbkennard.