No excuses

Jana Mathia | Oct 15, 20200

Ballots are in the mail. By this time next week, you could have already filled out and returned your ballot either via the mail or at a dropbox location. There are only two candidates for each position with a handful of other levies, initiatives and measures. You have a little more than two weeks to fill out your ballot and return it.

Unlike the primary election, there is no excuse not to be educated about the things you are voting on. Now is not the time to delve into all the flaws, faults and potential conspiracies as to what left many people with a ballot in their hand, but no understanding in their head. All that is past and can’t be changed. We can only effect what is here before us.

Effecting change begins with opening your ballot. Read it. If there is something you don’t know, there is time now to find out. Voters guides have been mailed out. Libraries are open to access online resources. Unless you put the envelope on top of the piano and don’t open it until the night before Election Day—I may have been guilty of this in the past—you have time to ask questions and find answers.

Is your town or local park district running a levy? Do you not know what the point of a levy is or what those funds are used for or have questions beyond what is given in the description on the ballot? By golly, now is the time to ask. It may be as simple as an online search for general information on the topic. It may mean a call to your city hall or local district chairman. You can keep it simple: “Dear city clerk, what is the purpose of the streets levy?” Your city clerk is a sharp cookie; they know the answer to that one. “My good citizen, those are used for filling potholes, snow removal and keeping the street lights on.”

Armed with that knowledge, you can go forth with pen or pencil in hand and confidently mark you ballot. Do you want your town to fill the pothole, remove snow from the streets or have those streets lit at night? Then you would mark Yes on your ballot. If you prefer dark, icy streets that swallow car tires, you would mark No.

Not sure who is better qualified to fill the position of Grand Pumba, District 2, Position 5? Check out a voters guide, search online, talk to people. Educate yourself and cast your vote for the person you think will best fulfill the duties of said position.

Voting is a privilege and duty. Sometimes we forget that first part and shirk the second. I admit, I’m guilty of not always exercising my civic duty. I’m bad at the primary elections, especially when there are no local measures on it. But we need to remember, there are people in the world who do not have the option of filling out a ballot. The concept of having any say, no matter how small, in how their government operates is foreign—unless a coup is staged. There is no elections department or ballot boxes. No government entity is sending them a letter in the mail asking if they want to help pay for the upkeep of the city parks. That’s a blessing we take for granted sometimes.

If nothing else, taking a few minutes now to research and vote means you retain the right to complain about issues later. If you are not voting in favor of the city filling pothole and plowing streets, then you should not later complain when the potholes grow and your car slides down the street. Forgoing your right to vote is forgoing your right to gripe and, let’s be honest, no one wants to give up that right.

So, when your ballot arrives, open it, read it, if you have questions, get answers, fill it out and send it in. (That last part is also critical to the process; what’s the point of doing all the work and then not submitting your ballot? Again, no excuse––stamps are NOT required to mail it in.)

Even if you are frustrated over the larger scale politics and feel your vote does not count, at least vote on your local matters. The smaller your town, the bigger impact your single vote has. One vote in favor of your local street levy can—and has been— the difference between it passing or not. People in high political offices may not need your vote, but your community and neighbors do.

Vote.

Jana Mathia,

Gazette Staff