Thursday, April 5, 2012

The Responsibility to Vote

I had the honor of voting Tuesday. On the ballot were several propositions ( I voted no on all of them because none of them was fiscally sound), school board members (also a waste of money), and the Mayor of Anchorage (both of whom will spend too much). Rather than listening to “news” or watching TV ads, I like to read the text of a proposition or the actual law, as well as look at the candidate platforms. I used to think that’s what most people do. It turns out, not only do most voters simply follow their party’s line (much like the “leadership” in the military), but most people, “lawmakers” included don’t even read the laws/rules they are voting to implement.

I know some of you are laughing as you remember Rep Pelosi telling us to pass the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in order to find out what’s in it, but people really don’t read the bills or propositions. Call me naïve (probably true), but I think if you are willing to put a check in a box on a ballot, you might want to know what you are actually voting for or against….. Is that really to much to ask?  During this whole week, in which I had the honor of voting, there was not stop complaining in the media about which propositions passed and who won what election. I thought to myself; with all this griping there must be a huge problem in Anchorage, maybe one I can help fix. I could think of only one problem, we had a record turn out, 26%, and that’s the problem.

If you vote, you get a sticker that tells everyone you voted; how cute. I propose the opposite. I propose if you don’t vote, you get a sticker telling everyone you didn’t vote, this will allow the rest of us to disregard your input without wasting our time.

P.S. A heartfelt Thank You to all the men, women, and families who sacrifice so much for my right to vote.

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