The 2016 election is just around the corner, and James Michael McAdoo is doing his part to make sure as many people are registered to vote as possible.

Over the weekend, a voter registration drive was held in Richmond that essentially doubled as a community BBQ.

Richmond Police officers worked with community activists to get people registered to vote for the upcoming November election.

As an incentive for registration, raffles were held in which newly registered voters were eligible to win concert tickets for Beyonce and Drake as well as Warriors tickets for next season.

McAdoo spoke with the crowd about his experience as a first time voter back in 2012 while attending college in North Carolina, and how essential it is for people to let their voice be heard through participating in voting.

Compared to other cities in Contra Costa County, Richmond has low voter registration rates, and it sounds like this event helped improve those numbers.

It’s easy to fall victim to apathy regarding politics, because there is so much corruption and dishonesty attached to it.

Politicians too often sell out to sources behind the scenes only concerned with furthering their own gain at the expense of the masses.

Positions of leadership demand a certain integrity that many candidates fail to live up to, and elections can easily end up feeling like a contest between severely flawed candidates.

It’s disheartening when an election essentially devolves into choosing between the lesser of two evils. It’s no surprise that voter turnout is as low as it is.

Having said all that, civic virtue is the foundation of a thriving democracy. The beauty of this type of political participation is the egalitarian nature of it.

No matter your status within society or how much money you have, everybody’s vote counts the same as anybody else’s.

It might be the only tangible power some people have to influence policy direction, and if that power is forfeited through either indifference or discouragement, it’s a devastating blow to democracy as we know it.

Warriors World

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