I’ve often wondered if there are people in Florida who wish they would’ve voted in the 2000 election. If you recall, Florida was the pivotal state when it came to George W. Bush eventually winning the presidency.
Hanging chads and other irregularities abounded, but that election, as well as the close one in 2004, showed why every vote is important.
One of my college roommates used to try to argue that his vote didn’t matter because of the electoral system. However, if enough people think that, it can make a difference.
In Florida that year, some tallies had Bush winning by as few as 100 total votes. Think about how many people you know who don’t vote and multiply that around the state.
Would our country have been a better place with Al Gore as president? I don’t know; the events of 9/11 would probably have still occurred, and it would be interesting to look into an alternate universe and see what Gore’s reaction would have been.
We’ve had a number of close elections in our own state, including Al Franken’s win a few years ago. Local elections can be very close too; I can recall a recount in Medford a number of years back where the mayoral race was determined by about five votes.
All this leads to my plea to please get out on November 6 and vote. It’s one of the great rights we have as a democratic society. However, don’t just go to vote; become informed before you do.
I’ve heard many people talk about just going in and randomly picking people. While it’s hard to know who all these judge candidates are, most of the other candidates and issues have a plethora of information to understand the various platforms.
Look over those and be educated. I’m not just talking about the junk crammed into our mailboxes in the past month, but search out unbiased sources that analyze the tendencies of these candidates and tell you how they have voted in the past and how they really feel about issues.
Understand the issues. My colleague, Jessica, wrote an article about the voter ID amendment a few weeks ago. Read that again and find other information to make an informed decision.
I don’t know how many people I’ve talked to about the marriage amendment who think that if they vote no, they will be legalizing same-sex marriage. That’s simply not so; it would just leave the possibility open. That’s an important difference to some people, so please be informed.
Spend a little time and take the election seriously. If a candidate you would have preferred in office loses by a few votes and you didn’t go to the polls, how will you feel? Please find the time on November 6 to vote and make your voice heard, even if it’s part of a louder voice rising from all voters. That’s one of the things that make our country work!
Word of the Week: This week’s word is capitulate, which means to give in or surrender, such as, “The candidate had prepared a concession speech in case the count showed he would lose and had to capitulate to his opponent.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!