That's the slogan I saw on the back of a jogger's t-shirt as I biked down the Olentangy bikepath a couple years ago. I couldn't agree more. Historians and political scientists are well aware that democracy, and America for that matter, are "experiments." Certainly when we have less than 60% voter turnout in important elections like the one today, one can question whether these experiments are going awry.
My 24 year-old daughter, Kate, isn't too interested in politics. After graduation from Miami in 2009, it took her over a year to land a full-time job in her field--wellness. For the first time, Beth and I and Kate, requested absentee ballots. We sat down at the table after dinner last night with the League of Women Voters Guide and the Dispatch recommendations and discussed the issues and the candidates. My wife, Beth, and I met in first grade in Clintonville and see eye to eye on most things, but recently our politics have begun to diverge a bit. Our collective effort to make sure Kate voted turned into a lobbying competition. Although Kate tried to hide her ballot from me, I could see Beth was being more persuasive.
I dropped off our 3 absentee ballots at the Board of Elections on my way to work this morning.
I miss stopping by Ridgeview Middle School to vote in person and seeing my neighbors and the school kids. I don't think I'll use absentee ballots in the future.
Please make sure you get out and vote today!
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