Whatever the outcome of tomorrow’s midterm elections, one result is certain: Poll workers, candidates and network news anchors will bemoan voter turnout.
If poll numbers don’t take another vertiginous plunge, they’ll simply be stagnant. And even if more Americans vote this year than in the 2004 presidential race, election officials still will say it’s not enough.
Voting is our most underappreciated democratic right; and it’s one that more of us should exercise more often. But forget for a moment how we go about picking our senators and representatives, our commissioners and councilmen, our judges and sheriffs.
In some form or another, every American votes every day. You can’t avoid it.
When you buy gasoline from the most expensive station because it’s convenient to home or work, you vote for higher prices. Shop at Wal-Mart or any of its discount chain brethren, and you vote to support a business model that sends manufacturing jobs overseas and keeps American workers making pitiful wages.
Pay for that doggy in the window of the disreputable pet shop? You just voted to support puppy mills — and to euthanize a rescued pup at the city shelter.
The right some of us choose to exercise on Nov. 7 is a symbol that represents the decisions we make on a daily basis. But there’s no voting booth, no secret ballot and no hanging chads.
Ballots are thin and green and crisp, and the faces of dead presidents adorn the various denominations.
They’re not distributed equally, either. Some have more votes than others, and those with the most can exert significant influence on economic — and often political — affairs.
You vote with your money. Don’t ever forget it.
When Americans shrug their shoulders and fork over the cash because they’re too busy or tired or lazy to find out what they’re supporting, that’s voter apathy at its core.
Be an informed voter — know what you’re buying, and from whom you’re buying. Support those rare responsible merchants and manufacturers at every turn. Reward fair labor and business practices with consumer loyalty, and the competition eventually will notice.
Making informed decisions on Election Day is important. Making them every day is the right, duty and challenge of everyone who does — and doesn’t — show up at the polls.