By Blake Deshazo

The Selma Times-Journal

Six cities and counties along the 54-mile stretch of highway that runs between Selma and Montgomery came together Friday to encourage people to appreciate the right to vote, which was fought for by civil rights activists 50 years ago.

Elected officials from Selma, Montgomery and White Hall, along with those from Dallas, Lowndes and Montgomery counties signed a proclamation naming the month of March “Selma to Montgomery Voters Registration Month.”

“The National Park Service is pleased to facilitate the signing of a proclamation that calls to action the citizens of cities and counties along the trail to participate in this democratic process by registering to vote,” said Sandy Taylor, superintendent for the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail.

First to speak before the crowd and sign the proclamation was Mayor George Evans, who showed pride in uniting with the other cities and counties along the historic trail.

“I’m happy as Mayor of Selma to be a part of this celebration as we recognize and sign a resolution that pertains to voting rights and [to] remember what happened in Selma and across this country 50 years ago [that] gave us all the right to vote and to have certain freedoms,” Evans said.

Also in attendance was Dallas County Probate Judge and Chief Election Official Kim Ballard, who shared disappointment in recent voter turnout.

“I will never be able to figure out why we have only 30 percent turnout in Dallas County,” Ballard said. “We get excited when we get 35 percent turnout in Dallas County where people paid with their lives and their health to give generations the right to vote.”

Ballard expressed hope of seeing those numbers increase, as the people in Selma and Dallas County remember what happened in 1965.

“I don’t personally want to be elected by 30 percent of the vote,” Ballard said.

“I’ll take it, but I’d much rather be elected by 90 or 100 percent of the vote. I am proud to be here to sign the resolution on Voters Registration Month, and I just hope it gets someone’s attention that is currently not registered.”

Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange, the last of the elected officials to speak and sign the proclamation, called voter turnout across the entire state a tragedy.

“Fifty years later we have the opportunity today to tell the story again to the young people to have them really understand why they’re able to vote,” Strange said. “It didn’t just happen. It took courage. It took heroism to be able to do that, and then the tragedy of it is 49 years later in 2014 in Alabama we only had 33 percent of those registered that voted.”

Each official echoed the same message of honoring what took place 50 years ago by voting.

“Every voice matters. The advocacy for the national and international right to vote remains very relevant,” Taylor said. “As the 50th anniversary approaches, and the world descends on this historic landscape, let us all be grateful to have the continued support of our community leaders, our friend groups, our partners, our churches and our volunteers, and lets do whatever we can to encourage people to register and vote.”