Get Out and Vote!

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I am partisan and political, but this soapbox is strictly non-partisan and social, not political. My message is simple: Please get out and vote!

It has always bothered me that such a small percentage of our population votes. In 2008, less than 57% of eligible voters actually cast ballots. Contrast that with countries that have just recently gained the right to vote where 90%+ is normal turnout. Have we gotten complacent and taken our right to vote for granted? I hope not, because it is perhaps our most important right.

Our founding fathers wanted to create a government of the people, by the people, for the people, and voting is the way that happens. I decry any attempts to make voting harder, and think the cynical voter suppression laws are wrong-headed. People waited in long lines for hours to vote in the 2008 election, and while here in Vermont that never happens, I can see how that could be discouraging. I hope that more states adopt 21st century early voting, voting by mail, and other ways to encourage civil engagement.

Here at Small Dog Electronics, we are letting local groups use our phone banks for “get out to vote” calls all weekend. It is a lot like jury duty, and from where I sit, that makes it not only a right but an obligation. Your duty as a citizen is to inform yourself about the candidates for local, state, and federal officers, and make the important choice that truly makes this a government by the people.

Vote for a major candidate or for your favorite person as a write-in, but please, please get out and vote!

End Soapbox