Opinion: Kim Davis proves all elections matter

Pavan V. Parikh is a Cincinnati attorney and a partner with the Truman National Security Project.

Who voted for Kim Davis, the Rowan County, Kentucky, clerk jailed Thursday until she agrees to obey court orders to issue marriage licenses? She received 53.16 percent of the vote in the fall 2014 election, according to election records. Barely over half of Rowan County registered voters cast ballots in that election, and barely over half of them voted for Davis.

Her refusal to issue licenses because she says same-sex marriage is against her religious beliefs is an asinine point for a public official who took an oath to “support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of [the] Commonwealth” (not the Bible) and to execute the duties of her office in accordance with the law (again, not the Bible). However, she is an elected official and cannot be removed from office, as some are calling for, unless she resigns or is impeached.

I’m sure some of those who are now complaining about Davis didn’t even vote in 2014. If you were a Rowan County resident eligible to vote then but didn’t bother to do so, shut up. You had your chance, and elections have consequences.

Meanwhile, back in the city of Cincinnati – in a swing county in the presidental swing state – there seems to be continuous turmoil among Mayor John Cranley, City Council, and the voters. There exist large contingents of Cincinnatians who love the mayor and similarly sized groups who hate him. But only 5.6 percent of registered voters showed up to the 2013 mayoral primary for the city and only 29.98 percent of registered voters in Hamilton County showed up to vote in November 2013, when he was elected. So, if you are one of the 70 percent of registered voters who live in Cincinnati and didn’t bother to show up and you don’t like the mayor, shut up. You made a choice not to choose, now accept the consequences.

Even when people do show up to cast a ballot, they don’t vote in all races. In high-turnout elections, like 2012, there are still massive drop-offs when someone is up for a nonpartisan race. In Ohio, and in Hamilton County in particular, we see this in our judicial races. When someone even bothers to run – because many of these races end up being uncontested – there is a stark drop-off in the number of votes cast for a countywide judicial seat as opposed to a countywide partisan seat. In 2012, for example – a race in which 74.77 percent of registered voters in Hamilton County voted – only 5.6 percent didn’t vote for county prosecutor. Yet in a contested county common pleas race in that same election, 33.56 percent of voters who voted in the election did not vote for that office.

Voting is critical to the foundation of our country and sacred to our democracy. Every election matters. Every vote matters. So show up, put up, or shut up and accept the consequences.