Letter to the Editor: Politics is rigged

Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump may be polarizing individuals but they have hit that nail right on the head. From super delegates to write-in candidates, from the top of the ballot to the bottom there is evidence of a system that bendsCompared to Duval County, I imagine Clay is considered by many to be a conservative county. According to the Supervisor of Elections, approximately 54% of registered voters are registered in the Republican party so that bears out. However, that leaves approximately 46%, or 64,343 people (see www.clayelections.com) in Clay County who do not identify as members of the Republican party. Non-Republicans, your vote does not count. The rich, the powerful, the incumbents have seen fit to have their elections closed off to non-republican voters. In three of the most critical elections in our community, 64,343 non-republicans will have no voice because the incumbent in each race has a supporter who filed as a write-in candidate.

The elections for Superintendent of Schools, the Office of the State Attorney, and the Office of the Public Defender all have write-in candidates who support the incumbent, but who filed as a candidate only with the intention of preventing non-republicans from having an opportunity to vote. Sure, the incumbents stay far enough away to maintain plausible deniability, but the write-in candidates have all publicly acknowledge their support for their respective incumbent. We still have to wait to see if someone does the same thing in the race to elect the next Sheriff. Right now, although there are four candidates, they are all affiliated with the same political party so everyone, including non-republicans, would be able to vote. All it takes is one write-in candidate and there is one more election in which non-republicans won’t be voting. We have until mid-June before we can start being angry over that, but the political consultant who apparently orchestrated the filing for two of the write-in candidates has previous ties to one of the candidates for Sheriff so anything is possible.

Isn’t it funny how America, as a nation, has supported regime change and the toppling of governments in the name of giving citizens the right to vote in a fair election and we don’t even have them here. Incumbents step up and take this opportunity to disassociate yourself from this rigged system and convince the write-in candidate in your race to withdraw. Have the courage to win an election in a democratic manner.

Nathan Ross

Green Cove Springs