Letter to the Editor: Right and Privilege to Vote

By BILL DELLOS Orangeville

Dear Editor,
The candidate signs are up and the debates will soon be over, it becomes our turn to sort out all the material we have heard and read.
Number one – We must get out and vote on November 2. It is a right, a privilege and a responsibility for everyone to vote. It is hard to be patient with a person who doesn’t vote and cries about everything our elected officials do. If a person doesn’t vote, he or she has no right to complain.
Number two – Don’t just vote to grind an axe. This type of voting is going blind and the axe may become dull. Study the person and issues for yourself. Don’t just vote for a person because he is a friend or a neighbor and sounds good. There is no such thing as just voting for the man. Look at what he stands for. Consider the Democratic or Republican, or other party platforms. Are these your standards? If you elect an individual regardless of what office that person is running for, you are bringing in that party’s ideals, platform or agenda. There is no way you can get away from it even if the person says there is no problem.
Number three – Consider what the candidate has done. Have you really investigated what has been done or are you listening to what others are saying because there is an axe to grind? Are you aware of the accomplishments, training and learning that has gone into his position, what he has done, is doing and may do in the future? Will the opposing candidate be qualified to fill this position and be as acceptable to continue to get the job done?
Number 4 – Everyone should have received the Utah Voter Information Pamphlet. Read it and study the issues, then read between the lines. Read the argument for and the rebuttal. Don’t worry who the signers for or against are. Just because someone well known is for a certain Initiative does not guarantee that it is for our best interest. Read for content. For example, look at Initiative 1. Consider where the money is going. Are we in Emery County going to benefit from it any or will it end up somewhere else. There are no guarantees where this money will go. Is it worth the extra tax? Will the tax really be for a certain number of years or will it be indefinite?
As voters there is much to consider. Don’t let others make up your mind. Study your candidates. Study everything in the Utah Voter Information Pamphlet and then decide. When you are in the voting booth, it is your world, your decision. Your vote counts.