If you don't vote, why are you complaining?

Published 10/30/97

Well, it's that time of year again. The time when ordinary folks soil their front lawns and unsuspecting stretches of land with signs like "John Doe for City Council - he's no worse than what we have already."

Yes ladies and gentlemen, it's election time.

Even if an area's candidate is a shoe-in to get elected, it's important to still register to vote, and on election day to physically go in that booth and pull down the lever.

Simply voting for a president does not suffice for fulfilling one's civic duty. Other issues are at stake besides selecting someone to fly aboard Air Force One. For example, during this year's November election there will be several referendums also on the ballot that will directly affect each individual in Allegheny county. Along with the highly publicized sales tax increase referendum, there will be ballot questions concerning local taxes (Homestead Referendum), prisoner pardons (Pardons Board Referendum), and the ability to vote (Absentee Ballot Referendum).

Sadly, not enough 18-21 year olds go out and participate in this ritual, in fact, they are the least likely to vote out of all demographics. Perhaps they have been brought up not to care about issues that they have no direct authority over. Perhaps they feel that no matter who they support they will get betrayed in the end. Perhaps WCW wrestling is showing a rebroadcast of "I'm gonna whip your mamma super slam fest," and taking the time to drive down to the local voting booth will prevent the viewer from seeing one grown man apply a figure four-double back breaker-neck-twist off the top rope.

This scenario, however, brings up another point in the effort to recruit new and sometimes halfhearted voters. If someone feels it more important doing something else rather than participate in a function that their own country was founded on, the question should be asked - Do we really WANT their vote?

This is a tricky dilemma to which there is no real answer. Would you feel worse winning an election receiving less than half of all registered voters participating, or would you feel worse losing by the slimmest of margins to an opponent that held an all-you-can-eat pizza party that attracted the necessary votes needed to win their public office seat? There is no clear cut, defining answer.

Even if you don't decide to make governmental issues your life, or even a hobby, it should still be the function of every eligible citizen in this country to make their opinion heard at the nearby ballot box. People from countries around the world come to America just so they can cast their vote without some dictator aiming a gun at their head. Surely this nation doesn't have to go to those extreme measures simply to get its citizens minimally involved in the political process, does it?

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