Reflections on an election

["John and Laurie Danahy" <JDANAHY@turbonet.com>]

The community of Moscow held an election that will provide the leadership
for the community for the next several years.  Twenty one percent of
registered voters turned out and expressed their opinions by casting
ballots.  It is a sad note that in today's community, twenty one percent of
registered voters is considered a good turnout.

Why is twenty one percent considered good?  Where are all those who speak
out on issues?  Should we as a community address the need to get more of our
populace involved in the initial decision making process?

Certainly it can be said that voting today is inconvenient.  The fair
grounds, as a polling place, is hard to get to, hard to park at, and you
never know who your going to have to talk to there.  Is it just a matter of
convenience, or is there a more fundamental reason why four out of every
five residents is willing to let someone dictate the future to them?

Perhaps the time has come, in this fast paced electronic age, to abandon the
polling place in favor of a different means of casting ballots.  Should we
look to our elected leaders to try and fashion a more convenient method of
voting, knowing that they were elected by such few numbers?

John

John and Laurie Danahy
jdanahy@turbonet.com