Fervent Republicans and Democrats claim this is the most important election in our lifetimes or, in a greater display of hyperbole, since the Civil War.
Depending where you stand on the political spectrum, when it comes to the presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, you may well agree.
It shouldn’t matter: citizens should always cast their ballots because it is a right and a responsibility to ensure the future of our democracy.
Don’t take voting for granted.
It is not just the top of the ticket that matters. There are federal, state, county and local races to be decided on Nov. 3.
OK, maybe not Nov. 3, given the number of mail-in ballots. It could be days before people know the outcome as millions of voters are sending in their ballots rather than heading to the polls this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are some of our thoughts on the upcoming election.
Congress: How will party switch play?
Voters in the Second Congressional District will decide whether Jeff Van Drew’s decades of climbing the political ladder will come to an abrupt end as they decide between him and challenger Amy Kennedy.
Van Drew is one of the best known names in south Jersey politics because he has been a mayor, a Cape May County freeholder, a state assemblyman and a state senator before being elected to Congress as a Democrat two years ago.
The question that will dog him – or save him – is his public switch to the Republican Party late last year when he pledged his undying support to Trump. He claimed he made the switch because the Democratic Party had moved too far to the left, but critics say he jumped ship because polling showed too many of his former supporters would not re-elect him after his first year of voting in Congress.
Since Trump put his stamp of approval on Van Drew and held a rally in Wildwood in January to support him, it’s likely Trump followers will follow suit. Will it be enough in this large district or will voters opt for Kennedy – a Democrat in Democrat’s clothing – rather than a representative who has proved politically ambiguous.
Kennedy is a moderate (yes, there is such a thing) and comes from an established multi-generational local family and carries her own name recognition after marrying into the famous Kennedy clan. For those who tuned in to the debate last week – see recap on page A1 – it is clear she can fairly represent this district as well.
Cape May County Freeholder: A counterpoint?
Democrats Liz Casey and Brendan Sciarra are challenging incumbent Republicans Will Morey and Jeffrey Pierson. No Democrat (except Van Drew, in a different incarnation) has been elected to the Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders since, well, forever.
The registration numbers don’t support it and it is always an uphill battle for Democrats who have been unsuccessful time and again trying to break the GOP stranglehold on the board.
Our view now, as in the past, is whether voters want to see any counterpoint on the freeholder board. A pair of Democrats would remain a minority on the board, but at least there would be a partial check and balance.
If voters believe in having that check and balance, they’ll support Casey and Sciarra. If they like the status quo, they won’t.
Ballot question: Recreational marijuana
If polling is correct, voters in New Jersey are going to handily approve legalizing recreational marijuana in the state. That is no reason to support that ballot question.
The priority with marijuana legalization should have been to change the laws that convicted people and affected their livelihoods because of minor possession of this drug. Instead, it’s about a money grab. We believe legalizing marijuana is not going to be a financial windfall for the state.