We need to talk about something important: Voting

LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) - Hi everyone, I’m Tarra Bates and we need to talk about something important, voting.

A car is the perfect metaphor for voting because voting is just like a new car that each generation is given as an 18th birthday present.

Some take that car and drive it proudly with a tank full of gas and oil to keep it running smoothly, while others don’t even drive their cars and others stop putting gas in their cars or even check the oil.

While the car obviously signifies voting, we know that it takes more than just a car, and thus, voting, to get the job done. Oil or credible knowledge is needed and so is gas or being active in the political process.

In the Lawton Ft. Sill Community there seems to be many cars, or votes, left in the garage when it comes to election time.

A lot of people say you can judge the health of a democracy by the number of people who vote, and if that is true then we are in trouble folks.

According to the Comanche County Election Board, there are 91,000 residents in the Lawton community, 69,000 of those are eligible to vote and only 39,000 are actually registered.

In the last election less than a tenth of Lawton’s registered voters actually went to cast a ballot.

Our ancestors who fought hard for the right to vote would put their head down in shame for us to have this superpower and not use it.

As a woman, I am painfully aware of the fact we were not able to vote until the 19th amendment was ratified Aug. 18, 1920.

For us to even have the ability to vote is a miracle. It wasn’t until 1965 with the signing of the Voting Rights Act, that a lot of us could actually cast a ballot.

Do not let all of the blood, sweat, and tears that our ancestors fought through go to waste. Get out and vote for who you believe will truly represent your interests.

We are currently weeks out from the election to decide who will take the District 32 State Senate Seat. We have covered this election extensively and you can find all of our coverage on our elections tab.

Specifically, you can watch our interview of the Democratic candidate, Larry Bush, here. You can watch our interview of the Republican candidate, Dusty Deevers, here.

You can also watch the primary debate KSWO held for this election here, as well as analysis of the debate here.

Lastly, You can see who is funding these two candidates here.

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