RSSDon't complain, do something about it-- Vote!
Yakima Herald-Republic Editorial Board
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This editorial appears in the Nov. 3, 2009, Yakima Herald-Republic.
Years ago, an early winter storm could doom the turnout on an election day. Faced with blustery winds and drifting snow, prospective voters would often surrender to the elements and forego the arduous task of getting to the polling booths on time.
But those days are gone. Rain, wind and hail will have no effect on the votes being tallied today. Only indifference matters now.
With mail-in ballots, we have the luxury of time to study the ballot, ponder the issues and reflect on the measure of a candidate against his or her opponent.
Nonetheless, barely one-half of eligible voters -- Yakima County issued 97,126 ballots -- will mark their ballots and turn them in for today's general election. That's a depressing figure, especially when considering what's on the ballot.
In the Yakima Valley, everyone has a reason to vote. First, voters are being asked to renew the Yakima County criminal justice sales tax for another six years. It would provide a steady funding stream for law enforcement, prosecutors and the court system.
Contested races for city council are being waged in Grandview, Mabton, Selah, Moxee, Sunnyside, Tieton, Toppenish, Union Gap and Yakima. School board races, which touch nearly every corner of the county, also crowd the ballot.
Then there are the two statewide ballot measures -- Initiative 1033 and Referendum 71. I-1033 is another attempt by Tim Eyman, a veteran of numerous statewide measures who grew up in Yakima's West Valley, to curb government spending by holding it to 2010 levels and allowing it to rise only to reflect inflation and population growth. Referendum 71, on the other hand, asks voters to approve or reject expanded domestic-partnership benefits for gay couples and senior domestic partners age 62 or older.
Both measures have stirred debate, led to high drama in the courts and feverish spending in the final days leading up to today's ballot counting. Recent polls show I-1033 trailing and Referendum 71 leading, but all that could change when voters send in their ballots by today's deadline.
The key is marking your ballot and, in turn, making a mark on your community. That's what voting is really all about.
Griping about change and doing something about it are two entirely different propositions. As we have seen all too often in recent weeks, complaining in a loud, boisterous way is easy. Getting the gumption to roll up your sleeves and do something about it -- like voting -- is a whole different matter.
So if you haven't voted yet, there's still time. And if you have, take pride in the fact that you care about your community.
* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.
I agree that people need to vote. But, I personally do not like these mail in ballots. IF a person does not have the ambition to go vote at the polls, then they are more than likely want everything for nothing also. So this means more than likely they are liberal ! Thus we get the likes of OBama elected to dictate to us instead of representing ! Although there hasn't been a president since Reagan that has represented. Both parties have a way of forgetting the voters!
Report ViolationI beg to differ with you Datruef. I simply do not have the time on any given Tuesday to go to a polling place to place a vote. The mail in voting allows me to consider the issues at home, discuss them with my family, and with others who have opinions, and study the issues at my leasure and when I have the time. The mail in ballot makes it easier all around. Maybe when I retire or get fired I would have the time.
Report ViolationClearly mail in ballots are a liberal plot to get to people who have important things to do on a Tuesday. Things like working, watching their children, going out of town on business or serving in the military. They just want to give away that ability to vote, like it's a civil right or something! What do they know?
Report ViolationCIVIL RIGHT???? We still have those?
Report ViolationOk, I voted...now if ther was anyone HONEST worth voting for. Politicians just tell people what they want to hear then, do what THEY want. I vote fot the referendums and the right to complain! Go to the middle east huh, you'll find this country to be heaven on earth. Happy traveling!
DATRUEF!!!! So you are the one who invented BI-PARTISAN POLITICS!!! I always wondered how that happened. So quick to judge people by the way they get thier vote in!!! So people who work out of town, are handicapped, have no form of transportaion, have jobs that they cannot skip out on, are caregivers that cannot leave thier charges to go vote don't have ambition??????? Liberals???? What rock did you crawl out from under????
Report ViolationOldThomasFan. Been there 2 times actually, done that and voted too. And, as I write this, happen to be on the east coast doing my job today. I would much rather be a home with my wife and children and retired. Then I'd have the time to go to a voting place to vote.
The right to comment and complain goes with the ownership of being a citizen.
Come on people, don't be narrow minded. Without mail-in ballots, how would illegal aliens, felons, and dead people be able to vote? We can't disenfranchise people by requiring them to go to a voting station and show identification or proof of citizenship, right libs?
Report Violationsjuan, you of all people are going to tell me I can't vote? Why?
Report Violationhuh,
If you're an illegal alien, felon, or dead person, then yes...I am going to tell you that you can't vote.
If you can't take a couple hours out of one day per year to vote, then you don't deserve the right that so many have given their lives to defend.
I'm guessing you still voted in the past before we had mail in ballots. Am I wrong?
I just think mail-in ballots provide too much opportunity for fraud, which cancels out your vote and mine. We saw this in the 2004 Gregoire vs. Rossi race, where dead people and illegal aliens determined the results.
To me, the potential for fraud outweighs the extra convenience of mail-in ballots.
I would gladly take a couple of hours out of my day to vote. The problem is that the commute from PA is a killer and takes a few more than a couple of hours today. I don't argue that the requirements can be and probably should be tightened up but I think the mail in process is basically pretty good in concept. It just needs to be perfected. By the time we get around to perfecting the mail in voting process, we will be well on our way to web voting and that will open up an even larger can of worms.
We need to make our processes enter into the current century, but we need to act cautiously and take care that we serve the citizen the best we can.
I know you were not saying that being in Yakima today trumps my doing my job and taking care of my family and business, but we do need to address the times we are living in.
huh,
As you well know, before we had mail in ballots, absentee ballots were available for people in your situation.
The old absentee process was cumbersome and very time consuming for both the voter and the government. With the vast increases in people traveling and the increased number of elections now the costs would be prohibitive. But yes, something needs to be done to tighten up the system to eliminate the possible frauds.
Report Violationhuh,
B.S.
http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/register_absentee.aspx
Voting by Absentee Ballot
Any registered voter may vote by absentee ballot. You do not need to be ill or "absent" to be an absentee voter.
You may request an absentee ballot as early as 90 days before an election. (No absentee ballots are issued on election day except to a voter who is a resident of a health care facility). The request for an absentee ballot must be made to your county auditor or elections department (not to the Secretary of State).
NOTE: Absentee ballots must be signed and postmarked or delivered to the county election officer on or before election day.
Requesting an Absentee Ballot
One-time absentee ballot requests may be made either in person, by phone, fax, electronically or by mail. Contact your County Auditor to request an absentee ballot.
Please keep in mind that absentee ballots must be signed and postmarked or delivered to the county election officer on or before election day.
just to set the record straight: in order to have gotten an absentee ballot you had to have been a registered voter to begin with. it's not something you can just call up and say" hey! I need an absentee ballot" and they just send you one. In order to register, you need proper I.D. and Proof of citezenship and proof of residence. If that was supplied, you could have been a registered voter. If the documents were not "genuine" the person registering should have made that determination. The mail in voting has nothing to do with whether a voter is legal or illegal. the responsibility lies where the initial application for voter registration is aquired. THAT! my friends is where the problem of illegal voters comes in!!! And, yes, I have voted by mail for years, but that does not make me "Liberal" and my ambition is anything but lacking!!
Final question, How many people used to use the excuse of "I need to leave work early so I can go vote" and never showed up to do so???????
How difficult is it for someone to steal ballots out of mail boxes? We already have a huge problem with I.D. theft through stolen mail, so what is to prevent the same problem with mail-in ballots?
Report ViolationI voted several dozen times before having to stand in line for almost 6 hours to vote for Bill Clinton the first time. By the end of that night any glamour or public good that I felt about going to the polls was pretty well gone. I have voted by mail since.
I watched numbers of people giving up and leaving - often because they had families with no clue where they were - cell phones were not ubiquitous yet. While those of us that remained tried to remain positive, it wore very thin as time wore on. Can't help but wonder what the impact was of having a hungry, angry voter with leg cramps.
Now I can take whatever time I want to compare resources as I prepare my ballot - usually two weekends before election day. mailing it then means that I am immune to the 11th hour "garbage" ads and bickering - if mail-in balloting gets rid of that it will have performed a miracle.
I can see it now, a whole bunch of people just waiting on the corner to steel a ballot out of your mail box in order to vote illegally!!! What's the benefit of that??? A federal offense and life in prison for a mail in vote????
What is this country coming to?
Jaeggertam,
Yah, what was I thinking?. It's not like we have organizations like ACORN that would ever break the law. And I.D. theft isn't really a big deal either.
I think that debating how terrible a person is because they prefer their family and livelihood to waiting in line to vote is a really important subject to be so heated over.
Mail in ballots are such a nice change. It is the only reason that I vote. Seriously. Between working full-time, going to college full-time and having a full-time family; I am lucky that I get to breathe, leastwise research candidates to vote for.
I guess some people just need an issue to chew on.
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