The Big Vote

The great election is almost over in terms of polling times, at least in the Eastern Time Zone. I apparently had some visitors this weekend while I was in the Detroit area. Howard Pizzo stopped by - he's running for treasurer of the great township o' Delta. He left a brochure attached to my door knob. It's one of the few I actually read - it didn't bash his opponent, and spelled out his education and relevant work experience. What a concept! And someone from the RNC stopped by and dropped off brochures for Mark Walberg and McCain / Palin. They left them on my doormat, and I didn't bother to pick them up. There was certain satisfaction from stepping all over them for the last two days. However, when I returned home this evening, they were gone. And I was a little sad.

So, of course I must have a gripe about the election. Maybe not the election so much as people's response to the election. I read several articles online (LSJ, CNN, TPC, Freep, etc...), and so many people commented that they were excited to vote, as they voted every four years. When I got my ballot this morning, I was number 220. At 8:30 in the morning. I remember past non-presidential elections where the voter turnout seemed low. So, I checked the archives for Eaton County for the last election in May, for the Grand Ledge School Board. A whopping 128 people voted in the election from my precinct. A whole 8.96%. And I was not one of them. And neither were 91.04% of the rest of the registered voters in my precinct. And I think that's a horrible shame. Because to think about it, the local elections are very impactful - what's more important if you have kids than how they are educated (hence, school board elections)? Or, if you pay property taxes, how about those special elections containing millage and bond proposals? People like to complain about income taxes, but how about property taxes? How is it that the president has such a greater impact on my life than my locally-elected officials? I make it out for the big elections, and for some of the smaller ones, too. Now, my resolve is to vote in every election, regardless of how I think it it impacts me (or doesn't, being that I don't have kids or a home). And I resolve that I will research before voting. My voice still matters, and apparently it matters a lot when there's not a presidential election. And your voice matters, too. So, to all my friends who Baracked the Vote today, I'm expecting to see "I Voted" stickers on you after the NEXT election, too.