It’s election time and before giving our vote, we must reflect, not only how our vote will affect our lives but our neighbors. Although the individuals running for the different positions have expressed their political platforms, we have apparently surrounded ourselves with a protective shield that does not allow us to listen. Many will vote for the party, appearance and gender, without taking into account the content of their message.
In local elections for state representatives and councilors among Latinos in particular, many are ready to vote according to their nationality. This is even worse than voting for the party, appearance and gender. We have to abandon this idea completely if we, Latinos, really want to progress as one body, strong and united.
This November 6, the situation is different, since we will go to the polls to elect governors, senators of the congress as well as state, representatives in the congress besides state and many other important positions that deserve to be analyzed well before deserving the voter’s approval. Particularly, check out the questions appearing on the ballot; we have synthesized the answers for the benefit of the reader on page 10.
Unfortunately, in a city like Lawrence with more than 40,000 registered to vote, only a small group fulfills their civic duty, looking for any excuse not to do so. We are not very hopeful that this time will be an exception, considering the situation many residents of South Lawrence are going through due to the restoration process after the gas explosions.
We know that for this reason, many residents have been forced to leave their homes due to lack of gas that allows them to cook, heat water as well as their homes and they are lodged at a considerable distance from the city making it difficult for them to comply with their duty to vote.
We trust that with the early voting that began on October 22 and/or the advantage of the absentee vote, citizens who are in this difficult situation have been able to comply with the candidates who are anxiously waiting for their vote.
Remember, an election is won – or lost – by one vote. That vote can be yours!
