I visited the Ortega Hills area near the Jacksonville Naval Air Station off Highway 17 in Jacksonville, FL/Duval Co. within Precinct 14K this past Saturday. The people that make up this older neighborhood work as technicians, truck drivers, etc… Consequently, these folks are feeling the pain of the prolonged recession; one even indicated that his house is in the process of being foreclosed.
I met another man who is now retired. He lives in the community’s model home that he purchased 50+ years ago. He claims to still have some of the furniture that came with the house. The day I talked to him, he was doing work in his shed. He explained that he was no longer registered to vote because he was getting called in too often for jury duty and did not like reporting to due to health issues associated with old age. I can empathize with him after observing him struggle to move about the shed.
I have met others who are also not registered to vote for one reason or another, but I think the prevailing reason is that people do not believe their vote makes a difference. While statistically true, the process of voting (vetting candidates, etc…) is what protects our freedoms. I try to impart this when I visit with people that chose not to register, but my points seem to fall on death ears sometimes, which may indicate that some people have given up hope.
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