Letter: Honor veterans’ sacrifice by voting

Your Nov. 10 editorial in the Herald addressed a continuing yet disturbing issue — low voter turnout. This issue continues to perplex candidates and political scientists, among others.

Low voter turnout continues in spite of ease of voting, such as mail-in ballots and informative election publications. With elections always occurring, the question that continuously presents itself is, “To vote or not to vote.”

An acquaintance recently proclaimed that he never votes because all elections are rigged. Such statements always sadden me. More disturbing are those who say they have never voted.

Studies show several reasons for not voting. One is that people are just too busy. Yes, “busy-ness” has become a national affliction. And what is the result of neglecting our right to vote — gridlock in Congress and stalemate in America accomplishing great things again. The approval rating of Congress is very low, almost equivalent to the voter turnout rates — could there be a nexus?

Reflecting on this Veterans Day, one reason to vote would be to honor those 1 million of our fellow Americans who have paid the ultimate price over the past 240 years to secure our right to vote.

This story was originally published November 14, 2015 at 12:53 PM with the headline "Letter: Honor veterans’ sacrifice by voting."