Church sign on building as guest arrive to attend the 60th Commemoration of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama.
Pool/Getty Images
We often think that the general election is when we can make our voices heard at the ballot box. But in a lot of places, elections aren’t actually that competitive. And voting in a certain party’s primary can matter a lot more for who ultimately represents you.
That’s been true for decades in most of Alabama. Until now. A new congressional map drew a new district that produced 19 candidates to choose from. That’s something Alabama doesn’t see often in its elections. We went down there to talk about it with Alabama voters.
Today we’re bringing you a conversation we had earlier this month in Birmingham, Alabama. We were back as part of our Remaking America collaboration with six partner stations across the country, including WBHM. Remaking America looks at the state of our democracy, and trust in our government.
In a democracy, why are competitive elections important? And how much power do voters have?
Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. …
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply