I am not as concerned about who people vote for as much as I am concerned with the fact that so few of us do vote. I believe it is important for The Herald to share with readers the importance of voting.
How about a retrospective article on the sacrifices of United States citizens who fought hard so that women and people of color could vote? Or why not an article explaining why it is we have a democracy, and how it only works when everyone participates? Talk about how the majority of the citizens in our great country are giving their voices away to the minority who do vote. For the sake of our country, please talk about the importance of voting. It is important to know whom you are voting for, and that does take work.
Yes, it is difficult and time consuming to sort through the mountains of information out there and make an informed decision. But it is worth it. When you refuse to participate, you are making a decision to go along. You are saying that what everyone else thinks is fine with you. Essentially, you are waiving your right to have an opinion. Frankly, I feel that people who do not vote in order to “make a statement” about the electoral process are only talking to themselves. If you have an issue with things like whom the candidates are and how the electoral process works, get involved with fixing it! I’ll admit my voting record has a few holes in it. But I was recently appalled to learn that only 56 percent of those who are of voting age in Washington state are voting. Nationally, only 51.3 percent of those who are voting age actually voted in the 2000 election. Why? That’s just about half of us, deciding everything for the other half. Does that seem fair to you?
Kelly Testerman
Edmonds
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