During my years of serving the voters of Suburban Cook County as an election judge/technician, I and my fellow judges, have heard all of the jokes about “fake news”, “voter fraud,” etc.
The sad thing is, there are plenty of folks who truly believe in the theory “if it’s on the internet it has to be true.” Over the last few years or so we have all witnessed the damage done to democracy by a deluge of deleterious data. The result of which was an assault on the very seat of that democracy in January.
As many outlets of information as there are pushing questionable data as fact, there is an equal number of places to find and verify the real facts.
In February we had a primary election for Mayor, City Clerk and two wards. Around 20% of the registered voters of Evanston decided who our next mayor would be and the fate of two incumbent alderpersons.
March 22nd we will begin early voting for the Consolidated General election.
Please do everything in your power to vote and encourage your fellow citizens to do the same. By the way it is a well known fact, local elections matter to our everyday lives far more than national elections. With that in mind please come to the polls armed with fact based knowledge as opposed to “I read on the internet somewhere…” or “My best friend’s cousin’s boyfriend’s mother’s neighbor’s brother’s -insert your own string of potential informers here-…said…-insert your own rumor here-”
Remember that all elected officials have a responsibility and indeed swear a solemn oath to uphold the constitution of the US and to serve the citizenry. They are directly responsible for ensuring all citizens are treated equally and respectfully. There are many who run for office who honor and respect their duty and unfortunately there are many who are determined to exact a level of vengeance or simply use these offices as a “stepping stone” to further their political careers.
Do your research, your due diligence, find the candidate who you feel has your and your fellow citizens’ best interests at heart.
Come to the polling place and honor those who gave their lives for your right to vote.
— Steve Lemieux-Jordan
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