Spurred on by the city’s recent water and trash crises, a new group is hoping to increase voter participation in Jackson.
Jacksonians 4 Jackson held its first “Picnic in the Park” Saturday, where they encouraged people to register to vote, and treated them to free meals and live music.
Organizer Julie Wyatt says the group is non-partisan, with only one goal in mind: making Jackson a better place for everyone.
“But it demands all of Jackson to get involved,” she said. “It’s really hard to complain if you don’t participate in the voting of our elected officials.”
Seven people signed up to vote at Saturday’s event at Ineva May Pittman Park.
Wyatt considers that a victory.
“Each vote counts, and we’re hoping that more will come, and we’ve also networked a good bit with people,” she said. “One interesting and great thing about our group is that we really see people from all wards in our city.”
Johnny Beason, another organizer, says he wants to see more residents participate in the electoral process, regardless of who they support. He’s voted in every election since he first registered at age 18.
“It’s not about political parties. It’s not about Black and white, it’s about voting your conscience,” he said. “So, I would love for every citizen that’s a voter… to study, to look up the people [who are] running and vote their own conscience.”
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According to city figures, just 17.28 percent of registered voters cast ballots in Jackson’s 2021 general election, equating to approximately 19,000 of the 111,000 voters on the city’s rolls at the time.
Nearly twice as many votes were cast in the 2017 general election, with 34,169, Hinds County data shows.
Like Beason, organizer Val Vickery also says it’s not about party politics but “demanding a better city.”
Vickery points to Jackson’s ongoing water issues, particularly in the billing department, as well as its failure to complete annual audits on time, as reasons to get involved.
“We’re about truth. We’re about integrity. We’re about creating a tidal wave amongst citizens [in this city] that agree with that,” she said. “And we think that they’re waiting for somebody to mobilize them.”
Source : WLBT