Next Tuesday is primary election day in Oregon, and time is running out to get those ballots marked and filed.
Sure, there aren’t a lot of contested races at the local level, and even the presidential primaries are starting to look predictable. That may have some voters thinking, ‘why bother?’
Well, here’s why. Voting is a right, and many brave people fought for our right to cast ballots and elect our own leaders. The results of any election can have an eventual or even immediate impact on the institutions that govern important aspects of your life – your business, your job, your family and more.
Locally, voters in two school districts face measures that will improve school facilities for our youth, and those kinds of spending decisions should not be made by a paltry turnout.
Even if you have complaints or criticisms of existing government, that’s all the more reason to cast your vote. And remember, elections have been lost – or won – by slim margins. As the adage goes, poor leaders are elected by people who don’t bother to vote.
Drop your ballot off at the Courthouse or the nearest official box, and remember, postmarks aren’t good enough to qualify for the count. – SC