Keeping It Real for Nov. 1

• By TONY BROWN
• Advocate copy editor
• Published: Oct 31, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Election Day is almost here, and the nation is abuzz with activity. The presidential race between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama headlines the Louisiana ballot that includes congressional, council and judges’ races, and seven constitutional amendments.

Everybody knows the big contest is to see who will become the next president of the United States. The stakes are high as voters prepare to cast their lots with the candidate they feel best represents their interests and, especially in the presidential race, is best qualified to lead the nation.

With so much on the line, expectations are for a large voter turnout on Tuesday. The impetus for that presumption was the record-setting numbers during early voting in Louisiana. More than a quarter of a million people statewide cast early ballots before the Oct. 28 deadline. East Baton Rouge Parish led the way with 31,832 of its 276,015 registered voters casting ballots.

Regardless of political party or candidate of choice, it’s good that more Louisianians are participating in the political process, especially when one considers the small turnout during the October 2007 election when Gov. Bobby Jindal was elected. Then, only 46 percent of those eligible to vote cast ballots.

Citizen participation goes beyond voting. Many people volunteer their time to help their candidate or cause, and some just consider it a civic duty to be involved. The value of participating is not always measured by numbers, but also by its influence on others.

Meet Sydni Sanders, a precocious sixth-grade student at Scotlandville Pre-Engineering Middle Magnet School, with big dreams and a zest for life. Well, as much zest as an 11-year-old can have.

Sydni is known as a go-getter. She’s in the Girl Scouts, takes dance and plays piano. Recently, though, she’s put those activities on hold to do something else: make phone calls for the Louisiana Democratic Party.

“I try to persuade people to go out and vote early or to volunteer … to help us and vote for Sen. Barack Obama,” she said.

Sydni got caught up in the political process a couple of weeks ago when her grandmother took her along to the party’s Baton Rouge headquarters.

“I sat there, and it was like, ‘I might be too young to pick up the phone. They might recognize that I’m a young child,’ ” Sydni said.

Sydni said she asked “Mr. Rob” (Robert Henig, field organizer for the Obama campaign in Baton Rouge) for permission to make calls and got it.

“It was easy, and it was cool,” she said of making calls. “Some people hung up in my face, but the majority of them listened.”

Sydni has been impressive and undaunted. Asked if she was hurt when people hung up on her, she said, “Not really. I didn’t mean to hurt their feelings or anything. I was just calling the people whose names were on the list.”