We won’t be electing Congress or the President this time. In the voting booths this fall we will be deciding on the makeup of our state and local authorities. The elections will provide a perfect opportunity for immigrant communities to express their views. On the local level, a few hundred or a few thousand votes can decide an election. This year we will be electing the New York City and New Jersey legislatures as well as town and borough authorities.

Unfortunately, the Polish community’s participation in the election process may turn out to be less than modest. Many of the Polish immigrants who came to the United States in the ‘90s applied for U.S. citizenship. But the only direct consequence of their pledge of allegiance to the United States flag is merely possession of a U.S. passport.

Many Polish immigrants are not interested in elections because of a lack of understanding of the U.S. political system. The concept of primary elections, where registered voters participate in the nomination process of candidates, is not familiar to Europeans. On the Continent, this type of decision is usually made by the authorities of specific political groups. Also, many Polish immigrants are not used to the voter registration process. And so, despite the growing number of immigrants with dual citizenship, in 2001 more Poles participated in the elections for the Polish Parliament than in primary elections in Greenpoint.

Ironically, the impact of Polish immigrants’ votes on Poland’s political system is minimal, while the power of their votes in the United States could have decisive power in regard to the most urgent local issues.

The Polish residents of Greenpoint, Borough Park, Ridgewood and New Jersey towns should try to take the future in their own hands.

It’s already too late to register for the New York State primary elections, which will take place on September 9, but the registration deadline for the main elections is set for early October: the applications must be stamped by October 10 and received by October 15. In New Jersey, the deadline is set even earlier—October 6 (the primary elections took place in June).

Polish organizations and media should do everything possible to invite the new Polish Americans to participate in the elections. There are no Polish candidates for state or local offices but we should try to get to know the views of the other candidates and convince them that our votes can help them win.

If we don’t vote this time, our lack of participation in the November elections will be proof of the political weakness of Polish immigrants.

This article was written as part of the Ethnic Press Fellowship of the Independent Press Association-New York.