Time to Vote

In my family we have always voted. My parents told me that if I didn't vote, I couldn't complain about either the candidate or the state of the country. They impressed on me that voting was a duty and one of the most important things I could do, as a citizen. Because of this, I have always voted. As soon as I turned 18, I went to the polls and stood in line to vote, the first time for a Georgia Governor. Sadly, my candidate did not win. Oddly, I still felt good about voting. (I won't tell you the the name of that first candidate because it would certainly date me.)  I can still remember the pride I felt at doing my duty -- and doing something my family taught me was necessary.

The only time I didn't vote was one July, when I let a special election slip my mind. That is all. I'm one of those people who thinks that even though my one vote seems kind of puny, it is very important that I go to the polls and cast that one little vote.

This year, the state races have been kind of hard to follow. There are so many people on the ballot, and very few of the candidates have bothered to ask for my vote. I can understand it, though. If I were running for office, I would probably save my money for the general election in November, if I made it that far. It does make it hard for voters to figure out which candidate they prefer.

The only help I could find was on the Georgia Secretary of States website, http://www.sos.georgia.gov/MVP/Login.aspx.  This is a web site called "My Voter Page." If you enter your information, they will direct you to a page where you can pull up your ballot.

Of course, in the primary you have to choose a party and vote on that ticket until the general election.

There is a two page  Democratic and Republican ballot on the site you can download and print. Another thing you can do is find the ballot, usually printed in The Times-Herald or your local paper.

I printed my preferred ballot and did web searches until I found the information about the candidates on my ballot. It really didn't take very long and even if you start this morning, I am sure you can decide on a candidate an make it to the polls before they close tonight.

So get busy, go and vote and please don't complain if you don't.