What’s at Stake in the 2016 Local Elections
The 2016 presidential race may be the most important election in our lifetime. The next president will be confronted with a myriad of problems — from the threat of ISIS to global warming to the Syrian conflict. But, local elections and statewide propositions may impact us more than the decisions of the president — from education to public safety to infrastructure.
Important Local Issues
Elected officials are responsible for making decisions that directly impact Muslims. In this election, a vote for your Senator is a vote for the Supreme Court which has had a vacancy for 242 days and more vacancies may come up. Parents, fearful of “Islamic indoctrination,” have successfully pressured their school boards to remove Islamic and Middle Eastern history from K-12 curricula — thus, encouraging an environment of ignorance of Islam and Muslims. State Assembly members and Senators vote on BDS bills which may curb our constitutional right to peacefully boycott. More American Muslims need to run for public office as did IlhanOmar , Keith Ellison , André Carson , and BasimElkarra .
American Muslim Voter Mobilization
Our community has the power to make a difference in elections. Bernie Sanders won the Michigan Democratic primary largely thanks to densely populated Muslim, Arab American voters in Dearborn.
Inspired by Donald Trump’s Islamophobia, Ghazala Khan - mother of fallen Captain Humayun Khan - launched a political action committee tasked with mobilizing American Muslims to become politically active.
Imams used National Khutbah Day to encourage American Muslims to get to the polls. A national database shows that nearly 1 million American Muslims are registered to vote.
Shifting the Balance of Power
Many US House and Senate races are toss-ups which may shift the balance of power in Congress. The vulnerability of these seats make our votes much more powerful. These are ten House seats that are vulnerable and these are ten Senate seats that are vulnerable. Recent projections show that Democrats fall short of controlling the House , but the Senate is expected to turn blue . We need to elect the best candidates to represent us in Congress.
Members of Congress will have to work with the president or our country will suffer under another eight years of congressional obstructionism .
Some American Muslims are not enthusiastic about either candidate. But, we have the obligation to show up and vote. President Obama said in an interview that voting for a third party candidate or not voting at all — especially in a swing state — is a vote for Trump. While our community should remember the significance of the presidential race, we must also remember the importance of local elections as well.
[Ryan Ahari, Research and Policy Fellow, Muslim Public Affairs Council (323) 258-6722 ), ryan@mpac.org ]
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