Column: Negative fliers shouldn't keep voters away from polls

This election season has been a pretty memorable one. There's no doubt about it when you view the two major party candidates from a historical perspective. Furthermore, social media almost guarantees you will see memes and videos shared amongst family and friends spreading opinions about the major party candidates in one way or another.

Among the cloud of factual and false information being distributed through a variety of social media and news outlets, one message rings loudest: you must vote. It isn’t necessarily a bad message, as this election holds so many firsts in history and is sure to be remembered. But is it possible for someone to take this message too far?

Political mailers sent out weeks before Election Day by the New Mexico Republican Party have caused quite a stir among voters during an election season that has already been filled to the brim with controversial statements.

The flier has blue text across the top that begins: “When Democrats win the election and you didn’t do your part to stop it…” until the blue turns to black with the words “Your neighbors will know.”

This text is accompanied by a picture of a blonde woman peeking cautiously through the blinds. The back of the flier further states “Voting is a matter of public record.”

The Albuquerque Journal quoted UNM political science professor Lonna Atkeson as saying “There’s strong evidence that shaming mobilizes people (to vote), but there’s something sad about the GOP, or the Democrats, resorting to it. Don’t they have any positive messages?”

What many see as an implied threat on the flier can in fact seem like a negative message. However, in an election filled with large amounts of negativity, beginning with the unpopularity of the two candidates, it wouldn’t be the first negative message. We’ll have to wait and see if it’s the last. But does it tarnish the message that urges voters to vote?

In many ways it can seem that way — voting is a right that should be taken seriously, and our government has always promoted the importance of voting in a positive light.

I have always been urged to vote so I can make a difference. While I have been told by family members that I can only complain about the outcome of an election if I don’t vote, I have never seen them accuse anyone of being responsible for a negative outcome for not voting at all. In most cases I have been told it doesn’t matter who you vote for as long as you vote.

And while I find this flier, in its accusing tone, to be in extreme poor taste, I don’t find it will stop me from voting at all. One negative message cannot diminish the positive ones I have heard, nor the importance of voting in the general election.

Voting is a right, and despite what the flier implies, the only person who can decide what to do with the right is the individual who possesses it.

Nichole Harwood is a news reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Nolidoli1. The views represented in this column are her own.