DEAR EDITOR:

Only 11% of eligible voters showed up for Trumbull County’s most recent primary election — a figure that should deeply alarm anyone who believes in democracy. But low turnout isn’t just about apathy — it’s also about access, trust and training.

On Tuesday, poorly trained poll workers handed voters an “issues-only” ballot, stripping them of the right to vote in partisan races. That’s not a minor mistake. That’s disenfranchisement.

In historically marginalized communities, where civic engagement is already undermined by decades of neglect and suppression, these kinds of errors reinforce a dangerous message: your vote doesn’t matter, and the system isn’t for you.

It’s no coincidence that the communities most often affected by these mistakes are the ones already least likely to see their needs met at city hall, the statehouse or Congress. This is a problem that should have a multipronged solution, all hands on deck, from electeds, community activists and everyday citizens.

We must do better. That means investing in better training for poll workers, yes — but it also means investing in the civic education and political power of our neighborhoods. Voter turnout will not rise until people believe their voices matter — and until we stop silencing them through incompetence or neglect.

We deserve a democracy that works for all of us, and most especially those whose right to the ballot box was earned because of the courage of forebears braving police batons in Selma and other places, bullets — Medgar Evers and countless others, and bombs — 16th Street Baptist Church.

That starts with getting it right at the polls.

LISA FREEMAN-WILLIAMSON

Groveport