Citizenship. Civic duty. Responsibility. Democratic process. Sustaining the republic. Choosing our representatives carefully.
They all are the fabric of our society, in which we exercise a measure of control over who is elected in all offices, from president of the United States down to a minor community office in the smallest of villages and towns. We do have a voice. If only more of us understood we should exercise our carefully-crafted right which flows down through the years from the early patriots to later public officials and pressure groups. One vote may greatly alter a situation, however, no voter knows for certain prior to entering the voting area if that vote will be critical. Why take a chance and give up a vote and an opinion to one who does vote? We have ample examples.
John Whitehead, whose column in The Voice is the usual back-page resident, often writes that our votes do not count because of entrenched forces which pull strings in the country. He is only correct to a point. Dedication by groups and individuals do make changes. It’s just that too often we expect change to occur at the snap of the fingers and click of the voting instrument. We need vigilance and persistent voting. A clear example are the voices in Parkland, Fla..
One example is in Aurora where there is a non-partisan vote to keep the Aurora Election Commission (AEC), or let it be absorbed into Kane County. Careful scrutiny is required on each side. The reason to keep the AEC is that the status quo is the best avenue and change would be counter-productive. The reason for Aurora to meld into the Kane County election process is that Aurora would save money. The devil in the detail is that who can claim for certain what unintended consequences will arise to be counter-productive with merging into Kane County election process? Neither side, it would prove at this point, has stated the case for the voters’ vote. One thing is certain. The voters should find more information and make a decision as civic duty. There is one more week for us to seek answers. Ultimately, the non-partisan decision should be made regardless of party affiliation, or, non-affiliation.