A blank Republican Party caucus ballot. (Photo by Jim Obradovich for Iowa Capital Dispatch)

To borrow from Edwin Starr: Politics! Huh! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!

That might sound odd coming from a writer whose job description requires reporting about politics and government in Arkansas. But, really, what has politics done for you lately? Not much if you’re an Arkansan who is a librarian, a low-wage worker, an experienced teacher, an inmate, nonwhite, transgender or non-Christian.

Yet here we all are on the cusp of another important election year. So, we probably should start paying attention.

The antiquated, low-turnout Iowa caucuses were last week, held during bitter winter cold and snow. The Des Moines Register reported only 15% of possible Republican voters cast ballots, the lowest turnout of the past three presidential primaries. The caucuses have been criticized for excluding all but the hardiest, most committed and ideologically rigid voters, which makes me wonder, why all the fuss?

New Hampshire will hold its presidential primary elections this week.

In less than two months, Republican and Democratic voters in Arkansas will vote in party primaries for president, one congressional seat and a handful of state legislative races. They’ll also choose a new state Supreme Court chief justice and vote to fill another Supreme Court vacancy in nonpartisan contests.

Early voting begins Feb. 19.

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, a Republican from Rogers who has represented Arkansas’ 3rd Congressional District since 2011, is being challenged in the March 5 primary by state Sen. Clint Penzo, a Republican from Springdale.

Fourteen state House races feature Republicans challenging each other in the primary; in six of those, incumbent Republican lawmakers face opponents from their own party. In four of 10 House races, Democratic incumbents face challenges from fellow Democrats.

If history is any guide, a third or fewer of eligible Arkansas voters will decide what choices the rest of us will have in the general election on Nov. 5. 

Between 2000 and 2020, the percentage of eligible voters who cast ballots in Arkansas party primaries topped 30% only twice: 34.6% in 2008, the year Barack Obama became president, and 38.1% in 2016, when Donald Trump became president, according to States United Democracy Center. General election turnout in both years was approximately 65%.

Regardless, Arkansas ranked dead last in voter turnout for the 2020 national election, according to a recent report from the National Conference on Citizenship.

None of that bodes well for the majority of citizens who likely won’t vote in this year’s primaries — because primaries attract the most committed voters, usually the ones who hold the most extreme views.

Extremism is why Trump appears to be the runaway favorite of Republican voters for president. Extremism is why some Republican lawmakers face opposition from their political right. Extremism is why former governors Asa Hutchinson and Chris Christie spoke truth about the stark choices facing us only to see their words overwhelmed by the delusional rhetoric of others.

Those voters are the ones who choose who the rest of us vote for in November.

So, maybe I shouldn’t diss politics. Maybe politics deserves, even requires, our close attention.  

If we care about our most vulnerable citizens, if we care about providing all children with an equal education, if we care about a woman’s right to her own health, if we care about a robust and regenerative society, we must take a stand this year. We must exercise our most powerful American privilege, the vote.

The deadline to register to vote in Arkansas is Feb. 5.

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