Everyone has their opinions, and in the age of social media we all seem to think that what we think and have to say matters a great deal to other people. We make it our business to share our opinion on a range of topics many times a day on sites like Facebook. The likes and shares measure the worth of those opinions and we are falsely led to believe that we have made a difference in our world by clicking a few buttons.

However, no matter what we are sharing or how many likes we dole out, none of it is impacting our daily lives. It turns out your opinion, rendered that way, doesn’t matter a whole lot, and neither does mine.

Not to worry. While the forefathers of Facebook may not have given us the important tools for change we crave, the forefathers of our country did. The one place where what you think does indeed matter a great deal, is on your ballot.

You may show up every four years in November to vote for the president, but did you know that in Hawaii it is even more important to show up for the Primary Election every two years? Or that you can make a huge difference by volunteering a small amount of your time to a candidate’s campaign?

I never gave it much thought before. I assumed that if candidates were any good, they would make it through the primary and then I could vote for the one most closely representing my ideals in November.

Brian Tseng/Civil Beat

Not surprisingly, I was often disappointed at the choices that eventually became available. The people that represent my ideals often do not make it on the ballot. Then I join in the chorus of other disappointed citizens lamenting that things never change, we cannot make a difference, and the same people always get elected.

It was not until I attended Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action’s Kuleana Academy training that I realized how wrong I was. During the five-week intensive nonpartisan program, we met with a wide variety of elected officials who represented a diverse spectrum of political views. Despite their ideological differences, many had similar advice for candidates and supporters. The number one tip: show up! The number one challenge: get others to show up.

I have showed up every four years for general elections, and for one or two primary elections. Was that not enough? It turns out that if we want good leadership and responsive representatives, that is indeed not enough.

Less than 40 percent of registered voters showed up to the 2016 Primary Election, and that was during a Presidential election year, which usually draws more participation. That figure includes mail in ballots, early walk-ins, and polling place results. In non-presidential election years, the turnout is lower.

Not only do we have to show up, we need to ask, inspire, or even drag our friends and family with us to vote.

It is no wonder that we are jaded and disappointed. With attendance like this, it’s nearly impossible for fresh faces with bold ideas to make it. Not only do we have to show up, we need to ask, inspire, or even drag our friends and family with us to vote.

Now imagine, we are all showing up, that the entire community is officially registering their opinion in the form of a vote. We might also imagine we will still be disappointed because we lack inspiring candidates. Could that perhaps be the reason for the low turnout?

We know we will be faced with the same old choices, so why bother? Newcomers are often hesitant to run because they have a steeper learning curve, less name recognition, and fewer donor dollars available to get their name out into the community. Despite all those hurdles, this year, that is not the case.

Diversity On The Ballot

The current problems facing us in Hawaii have brought a record number of diverse candidates to the ballot. On Kauai alone, we have seven candidates for mayor and 24 candidates for the seven Kauai County Council seats, most of whom are not career politicians. These are regular citizens like you and me, with inspired solutions to problems like the housing crisis, seemingly unending traffic, and increasingly extreme weather events. We have fresh choices and we have no excuse not to show up for them on Aug. 11.

Since I have learned just how difficult it is to run a campaign and win, I would also encourage you to pick one candidate you believe in donate some of your time and/or money to his or her campaign. You can put a sign in your yard, call people to encourage them to vote (called phone-banking), sign wave with the candidate, even make them a meal so they don’t have to think about it and can focus on their campaign. There are a number of ways to help and they don’t require your opinion as much as your participation. Please make your opinion matter and show up. All the sharing you do on Facebook will not matter one bit if if you don’t ramp up your engagement in the electoral process.

If we care about our civil rights, about the environment, about our children, about life in Hawaii, we all need to up our game. I have. I hope you will too.

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