Are you registered to vote in the November 4th General Election?
If not, and you live in Franklin County, Ohio, you must register by October 6, 2008. Here’s how.
If you live somewhere else, you can Google:
"voter registration [name of your county] [name of your state]"
…and you will find your local Bureau of Elections. Or visit the Federal Elections Commission.
Don’t Lose Out
If you aren’t registered to vote by October 6th, AND if you don’t actually vote on November 4th AND you don’t have a serious medical reason, then — I’m sorry to inform you — you aren’t well educated.
How embarrassing for your teachers and parents, for them to have failed so miserably with your education. Voting is, quite simply, a measure of our educational system.
As an educator, I apologize to you if you don’t vote, because we, as your teachers, have failed you.
It does matter.
If one of you so-called friends says, "It doesn’t matter," then you deserve better friends. If your parents say it, then you deserve better parents. (Good luck with that.)
There are a thousand reasons why it matter:
Here’s one: Presidents appoint Supreme Court Justices for lifetime terms. The Supreme Court interprets how our freedoms are implemented — right down to the local level. You don’t have to believe this. It’s true anyway. It does matter.
Here’s another: Surely you have some opinion on the current war. (If you don’t, contact me. I can give you two from which to choose. And a third, if you don’t like the first two.) You can find which candidate has the opinion and plan that you like better. It does matter.
If you think your vote doesn’t matter, because you only have one vote, then rethink the math. No one else gets more than one vote.
Actually, because approximately half of eligible United States citizens don’t vote, your vote is worth approximately two votes. You get to vote for yourself and also for someone who just doesn’t know better.
Want to test whether it matters
whether you should vote?
Call
someone in another country and suggest that you are not going to vote.
I dare you.