Tomorrow is Election Day. This should not come as a big surprise to any of you. W sadly reminded me in his post that there is still an abudence of people who would rather whine about the political state of things, than actually vote. They use the sorry excuse that their vote “doesn’t count”.

The reality is that each vote go towards a sum total of either passing or not passing a bill or the election of a politician. Each person has the ability to contribute to making that happen OR not happen. In not voting you are allowing others to make choices for you. Often those who do not vote are likely to complain about “the system” or “the man” — well than, for fuck sake, don’t let them make your decisions for you!

Consider for just a moment that in the last five years the average registered voter turn out was as follows:
- Presidential – 70.92%
- Legislative – 67.04%
- Referendum – 63.96%

If all those who feel their vote does not count were to take the time to make it to the polls (hell here in Oregon you don’t even have to leave your home) that would be a 29 – 36% difference in registered voters. That is significant enough to absolutely change the direction of a measure, amendment or elected official. Go one step further, if all eligible voters actually registered to vote and then voted, we could be looking at an entirely different government.

By not voting you are, in effect, still casting your vote. The conservatives are counting on your apathy. You are telling them that it is ok for them to do whatever the hell they want with this country.

Rather than complain about the state of politics, why don’t you do something about it!