Letter to the editor: No excuse not to vote

In answer to Michael Alcorn’s question (The problem with money in politics, Nov. 11, 2021), I believe it should always be worth fighting a system with dysfunction. And when it comes to politics, there is more than just one dysfunction.

For me, it begins with eligible voters who choose not to vote. I get tired of hearing all the excuses: “I am too busy working and taking care of my family to vote,” “My vote won’t make a difference,” “I don’t know anything about the politicians running for office,” and “I am not going to vote because the system is corrupt,” to name just a few.

Voting is a right and privilege that citizens in other countries would love to exercise. None of us can complain about political dysfunction if we do not vote. Anything less than 100% of eligible voters casting their ballots, especially when they can be mailed or dropped off at the many convenient sites around town, is just not good enough.

That said, it behooves us to know something about the candidates for whom we are voting. One way to do that is by looking at the individuals and organizations supporting their campaigns. Due to finance campaign laws, this information is public knowledge and can easily be obtained with the internet, available to all, thanks to our public libraries. While individuals may not have the wherewithal to give large sums of their own money, they can still decide whether to vote for a candidate based on the individuals and organizations supporting them.

The Wizard of Id writer, Johnny Hart, wrote ”Whoever has the gold, makes the rules.” It may be time to vote for term limits, so that whoever has the gold cannot make the rules for too long.