Archive: Opinions

To The PointOne of the most critical ways that we as citizens can influence our government’s decision making process is by voting.  Voting is a formal expression of preference for a candidate for office or for a proposed resolution of an issue. Voting generally takes place in the context of a national or state election.  Local elections are equally important and can be just as critical to individual participation in government.

Every adult, mentally competent, citizen in the United States has the right to vote.  There are a few important exceptions.  A person who is currently confined to a correctional institution or facility or to a community residence is not eligible to vote. Also, anyone who is on parole or who has been convicted of election law violations is not eligible to vote.

The voting process is the very heart and soul of representative government. Through voting, we make our voices heard. Yet, of all those people who are eligible to vote, only 50 percent actually register to vote. Of that 50 percent who register, about 35 percent vote in a primary election and anywhere from 50 percent to 75 percent vote in a general election. 

Voter turnout varies for many reasons.  Presidential elections and “hot-button” issues bring out the larger vote.  At the state and local levels, election turnout often depends on “heated issues” such as tax increases or public disapproval of incumbents running for reelection. In a few regions, the weather can affect turnout, but I always admire those who travel in subzero weather, bundled in face hugging hooded parkas, traveling by dogsled or snowmobile to cast their vote. 

Every vote counts. Just one vote or a handful of votes can make a difference in the outcome of an election. In 1960, John F. Kennedy won the presidency by an equivalent of just one vote per precinct. In 1920, women won the right to vote by a single vote when Tennessee, the last state needed to pass the constitutional amendment, ratified the women’s right to vote amendment by that one vote.

Many state and local elections have been determined by one vote. In 1997, Vermont State Representative Sydney Nixon won his election by one vote and then, during a recount later that night, lost it by one vote.

On November 3, 2009, millions of American citizens will travel to their polling place and cast a vote for the candidate of their choice.  We, the citizens of Lansing, will have the same opportunity to make our voices heard as well.  With four candidates running for two open seats on the Lansing Town Board, and a challenge to unseat our current representative to the Tompkins County Legislature, every voter has a chance to alter history.

Your vote counts. It is your contribution to effective representative government. I urge you to vote on November 3.   No matter who is elected, the real winners will be those who make the effort to get out and vote.  President Harry Truman said, ‘‘It is not the hand that signs the laws that holds the destiny of America. It’s the hand that casts the ballot.”  And that is to the point.

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