(Digital Editor's Note: This article was written by Debbie Wuthnow the iVoterGuide president. It was published in the August 2024 print edition of The Stand first.)
Everyone is guilty of it. A voter walks into the room, ready to cast his ballot for the next president of the United States. As the patriotic voter chooses his preferred candidate, he continues to the bottom of the ballot, ready to exit the polls and proudly flaunt his “I Voted” sticker. However, before he can officially cast his ballot, he must filter through a few more names – miscellaneous people running for miscellaneous offices. Or so it seems.
The down ballot
The term down ballot refers to candidates who are farther “down” the ballot. For instance, while it’s common to vote for the president or congressmember at the top of the ballot, the individual at the bottom of the ballot, who may be running for county commissioner or the local school board, will often get ignored. After casting a vote for the commander in chief, choosing the newest member of the school board may not seem to be that big of a deal. But it is.
For instance, everyone wants taxes to be lower, and most parents are concerned with the curriculum being implemented in elementary schools. So to remedy these issues, voters cast their ballot for a president who they believe will fix it all. But here is the thing: The president cannot. The system of government our founders envisioned gave limited power to the federal government. Thankfully, Congress has not yet encroached on all those powers.
Many issues, such as taxes and school curriculums, are impacted by elected officials at a local level – from school board members to county commissioners, from city councils to mayors. To ensure those offices are occupied by individuals who will hold the same values as voters, citizens must vote on these down-ballot races.
A bottom-up system
In baseball, a group of athletes are drafted to play on a minor-league team. These “farm teams” are made up of players who are basically in training until they are ready for the major leagues. They start out low on the totem pole, but the positions they are preparing for are grandiose. “Lower” political offices are the same. Just as these athletes work their way to the top, local officials, commissioners, and school board members often end up in much more powerful positions.
Therefore, by electing individuals for lower-level political positions, citizens are often determining what Congress will look like in the future. Over 80% of representatives and senators in the 118th United States Congress served as public servants or elected officials at the local, state, or federal level before serving in Congress.
If the bottom of the ballot is ignored, voters may be paving the way for unqualified or immoral individuals to have power over more of the nation.
Diligence is key
The Bible implores one to be diligent (Proverbs 21:5). Taking the time to educate oneself on the candidates who are not in the limelight might seem like an undue burden, but iVoterGuide is working hard to make that process easier. When those candidates eventually climb the ladder or enforce God-honoring policies, citizens will be thankful that they were diligent and took the time to vote all the way to the bottom of the ballot.
