On Nov. 8, 2011, citizens of the city of Fayetteville went to the polls. Let me correct that: 19 percent of the citizens went to the polls.
This letter is to the 81 percent of you who decided that this year’s city elections were just not that important for you to go to the polls.
The late Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, always said, “All politics is local.” The local level is where you can make a difference and have the most impact.
So why didn’t you vote? Could it have been that you just “assumed” your candidate would win? Could it have been you were unhappy with the selection of candidates? Could it have been you didn’t think your vote was important?
We as voters sometimes get cocky and just assume our candidate has the votes to win but we must never make that assumption.
I can appreciate it if you weren’t happy with any of the candidates (over the years, I’ve held my nose and voted for a candidate that wasn’t my ideal choice) but that is why you get involved in the political process. If you are unhappy with the current selection then go out and recruit others to run.
If you don’t think your vote counts, let me give you some examples of how just one vote can make a difference. The election of 1800 came down to a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. Because there was a tie in the Electoral College vote, the Constitution stated that the House of Representatives would cast the vote for the president. Thomas Jefferson was elected president by one vote.
In 1824, none of the four presidential candidates received a majority of the Electoral College votes. Once again, the House of Representatives would cast the vote for the president. John Quincy Adams was elected president by one vote.
President Andrew Johnson escaped being removed from office by the Senate after his impeachment in the House by one vote. Rutherford B. Hayes became President in 1876 by one vote.
Remember how close the vote count was in the 1960 election between Kennedy and Nixon? One additional percent in Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey and Texas would have made Richard Nixon president in 1960. Think about how one vote can change the course of history.
While our next city elections are two years away, we have a very important election coming up in November 2012. The presidential election is less than one year away and the last thing we need to do is sit on the sidelines. Please take the time between now and next November to become an educated voter.
We saw in last Tuesday’s election where voters didn’t do their research and just took the information given to them by the candidate(s). Never rely on others to give you information about where a candidate stands on the issues.
If you didn’t vote last Tuesday, then I must ask that you remain silent because, as the saying goes, “If you don’t vote, don’t complain.”
Laura Lunsford
Fayetteville, Ga.
