Friday, June 17, 2016

Insight - When decisions affecting many are made by some - By Michelle Libby


Tuesday was Flag Day, but it also was a day for voting. There wasn’t a lot on the ballots in Windham or in Raymond, but there were some important issues that did deserve to be considered by all registered voters in the community. In Windham, out of approximately 11,000 eligible voters only a little over 500 turned out to cast their vote (some voted absentee making the totals around 600).


I find this a disgrace and a little disheartening that our community cares so little that it can’t be bothered to find a time from early in the morning to late at night to spend a couple of minutes voting. There weren’t any lines I saw and I was there three hours in the evening. 

It’s a yearly call for people to care enough to turn off the TV and go to the polls to vote yes or no on a multi-million dollar school budget. It takes no time and it’s your right. 

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a Naturalization Ceremony at our Veteran’s center. The new citizens were so excited and the first thing they wanted to do was vote. Why is it that we take it for granted as citizens who have been born with this rite?

In November, I expect to see the lines out the door. The high school has cancelled school for that day expecting that they will need the parking for the voters. Is voting in a presidential election like going to church only on Christmas or Easter? 

The other side of the discussion is do we want uninformed voters making decisions for us? Someone who shows up and writes in a name or votes for which ever name they like the best, does this help the community, state or nation? What will it take for people to wake up to the freedom, the democracy in action? I hope it’s not that it disappears before we realize we have a say now.

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