Finally, it’s Election Day. You’ve seen the ads. You’ve read the new stories, the op-eds, the letters to the editor. Ready or not, it’s time to vote.
For an election with no major public offices at stake – no race for president, governor, Congress – the campaigns that end today have been spirited, to say the least.
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Who would have guessed that an election dealing with the relatively mundane issue of voter registration would stir controversy and overheated debate? Gambling is always a volatile issue, of course, but the two ballot questions dealing with gaming have pitted not just the usual pro-casino and anti-casino forces against each other but have fueled inter-city rivalries and touched off cutthroat competition for jobs and economic development.
Even normally routine contests involving local offices and ballot issues have produced some frayed nerves and short tempers.
And at least one election, the Portland mayoral race, has led to head-scratching confusion as voters wrestle with the mysterious process called “ranked-choice” voting.
And yet, despite the rigorous debate, election officials are predicting voter turnout of just 25 percent. Can that be right? We have an unusually competitive “off-year” election campaign and three-quarters of the people who are eligible to vote won’t do it? That’s surprising. And disappointing.
The right to vote is one that should be exercised at every opportunity.
The primary responsibility of citizenship in a free society is to participate in the democratic process – to help set the course of that society by sharing in the burden of decision-making.
We do that by voting, in routine and procedural elections as well as in high-profile elections in which the candidates are household names and the issues are matters of global import.
So let’s do our job, fellow citizens, and vote today. You can even register at the polling place if you haven’t had a chance to register previously – and then decide with your vote on Question 1 if you want Election-Day registration to remain an option in the future.
We have an opinion on that question, by the way, and on other ballot issues. Here’s a recap of our endorsements:
• Question 1: Election-Day voter registration. Vote yes.
• Question 2: Authorizing racinos in Biddeford and Washington County. Vote yes.
• Question 3: Authorizing a casino in Lewiston. Vote no.
• Question 4: Constitutional amendment on redistricting. Vote yes.
• Cumberland County Civic Center bonds: Vote yes.
• Portland mayoral election: Michael Brennan.
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