By: Natalie E. Tennant,
29th West Virginia Secretary of State
It has been said voting is the right by which we have all other rights. Its a powerful and inspirational statement and makes us proud to be Americans and West Virginians.
Just as our nation has evolved in our democratic journey, so is the case with voting in America. The struggle to gain voting rights for all our citizens is well documented.
Our forefathers only granted the right to vote to white males who were landowners when the Constitution was ratified in 1787. Since then, it took the work of suffragettes to get the right of women to vote and civil rights activists to force states to remove the poll taxes and Jim Crow laws that discouraged and denied African Americans and poor whites their right to vote.
Historic legislation such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002 have helped remove arbitrary barriers at the polls to protect our right to vote. However, the political battles continue to restrict access to the ballot box forcing Congress to debate another landmark voting rights legislation bill in 2021, For the People Act.
We often hear the phrase, the will of the people but how is that will demonstrated? At the ballot box. Our voices are heard, and our representative democracy is strengthened by ensuring all eligible Americans have access to and exercise their right to vote. Election complacency makes us weak, silences those who dont participate and allows our elected officials to only listen to a minority of voters.
Leighs book Stories From the Ballot Box is an impactful narrative underscoring the importance of voting. He weaves history - both personal, regionally, and statewide - into an informative read that will benefit future West Virginia election enthusiasts and historians.
By sharing the inside story and showing the results of many local and statewide races he demonstrates the importance and power of voting. This book is a must have as part of your library for current and future reference.
Natalie E. Tennant served as West Virginias Secretary of State from 2009 until 2017. She is the first, and so far only, Democratic woman to serve on the Board of Public Works.
Secretary of State Natalie E. Tennant
As I write the introduction to a book Ive been toiling away on for most of my adult life, Im struck by how much has changed in a short amount of time in Jefferson County politics. When I first became aware of the different elective offices and the various incumbents there were names like Sheriff Ed Boober, Assessor Ginger Bordier, County Clerk John Ott, Circuit Clerk Patsy Noland, Prosecuting Attorney Mike Thompson, and Magistrates Gail Boober, Mary Paul Rissler, and Bill Senseney. As of December of 2020, only Patsy is still in office, as all others have retired. Patsy, too, will be retiring at the end of the year. But then change must happen and several qualified individuals have gone on to serve in many of those positions.
A good friend of mine, Marguerite Rockwell, once remarked that she sees politics as my sibling because it has been such an integral part of my life. I cant say I disagree with her. Ever since I was about 13, I have been an avid watcher of elections and reader of political history. Even before then I dont remember a time when I didnt hear discussions of politics and elections at home. My parents frequently took me into the voting booth with them when I was a child. I still remember going with my Mom to C.W. Shipley Elementary School and listening to her tell me who she was punching on the ballot and why. When I studied political science at Shepherd, I always gravitated toward domestic political history, especially the history of women and ethnic and religious minority candidates in federal level elections.
I suppose politics is in my blood. I say this by way of explanation, not out of any sense of arrogance or boastfulness. I am privileged to be the great-great-grandson of Jefferson Countys first member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, George Koonce, who also later served as a West Virginia State Senator and as a deputy federal marshal. Another great-great-grandfather, John Allstadt, was involved in perhaps the largest political statement ever made in Jefferson County when he was kidnapped, along with his son, by John Brown and held captive in what is now known as John Browns Fort. I also have a great-great uncle, George Johnson, who represented West Virginias Fourth Congressional District in the United States House from 1923-1925 and again from 1933-1943. Johnson preceded one of my political heroes, Ken Hechler in holding that seat. (Maybe there is something about the name George that is lucky in politics!)
Recent generations of both sides of my family have been much more locally focused. My mother, Mary Everhart Koonce, father, Stafford H. Koonce, and paternal grandfather, Howard S. Koonce, all made bids for the Harpers Ferry County Commission seat. Unfortunately, all came up short in the Democratic Primaries. (My great-uncle, Sam Henkle, did make the cut though.) My great-aunt, Mrs. Darrell Koonce (as she liked to be known) was an associate chairwoman of the Jefferson County Republican Party and was in leadership with the State Republican Party. My uncle, William S. Everhart, was one of the last Justices of the Peace in Jefferson County. Im a third-generation member of the Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee, which has been the privilege of my life. My maternal grandfather, Herbert W. Everhart represented the Middleway District, my mother represented the Harpers Ferry District, and I now represent the Middleway District and serve as chairman. I believe I take after my grandfather and mother in the respect that my place, just as they saw theirs, is in the party structure at the local level, toiling away to do whatever I can do to help elect Democrats in Jefferson County.
Perhaps the most successful politician in my family is a cousin, the late Sarah Ada Koonce of Prince Georges County, Maryland. She was not only the first woman elected to the Maryland House of Delegates from Prince Georges County, but also served on the Prince Georges County Council and as Clerk of the Countys Circuit Court. Unfortunately, she died in 2012, at the age of 90.
Thinking about the service of those members of my family and the many other elected officials, candidates, and dedicated party workers over the years has often encouraged me to work on this publication, especially when I thought of tossing it in a drawer. Being involved, even in the limited ways I have, with politics has enabled me to meet so many wonderful, caring, and interesting folks over the years. Many of those same people impressed upon me the importance of civic involvement and public service. I will be remiss to not mention, in some substance, five people who have truly aided, nourished, and supported my love of politics.
