According to a CNN article, “Gender or race: Black women voters face tough choices in S.C.” it seems one of the most important determining factors for voters this presidential election season are chromosomes and skin color.



Recent polls show black women are expected to make up more than a third of all Democratic voters in South Carolina’s primary in five days.


For these women, a unique, and most unexpected dilemma, presents itself: Should they vote their race, or should they vote their gender?


No other voting bloc in the country faces this choice.


So does that mean since…


I am Italian, I must be voting for Giuliani;


My dad served in Vietnam, I must be voting for McCain;


I was born in the Carolinas, I must swing toward Edwards;


I’ve got family ties to Illinois, I must be voting for Obama;


I lack a Y chromosome, I must be voting for Clinton;


I grew up in Texas across the border from Arkansas, I must not be voting for Huckabee—the Razorbacks were old SWC rivals to my Alma Mater;


As I said I grew up in Texas, I must be voting for Ron Paul….


I could go on—apologies to any candidates I did not include in my list, it was by no means intentional—but the fact that anyone of either party would vote solely on the basis of race or gender is as ridiculous as the reasons listed above. And all you have to do to see how off-base CNN was in their correlation is read the comments that came in regarding the original article. Most folks weren’t real happy.



An e-mailer named Tiffany responded sarcastically: “Duh, I’m a black woman and here I am at the voting booth. Duh, since I’m illiterate I’ll pull down the lever for someone. Hm… Well, he black so I may vote for him… oh wait she a woman I may vote for her… What Ise gon’ do? Oh lordy!”


The long and short of it is, especially in a time as complicated as the one in which we live, there is way too much to consider that is issue related to base decisions on. Now we are not a perfect electorate and on some level these biological issues may play “a” role, but by no means do they play “the” role in determining nominees or presidents.