Monday, October 4, 2004
Today is last chance to register
Editorial
Today is the last day to register to vote in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. It is the second most important thing you can do as a citizen this fall. You do the most important thing on Nov. 2, Election Day.
George W. Bush and John Kerry are touting this year's election as the most important in recent history. They're right. As demonstrated in last Thursday's debate between the two men, the candidates have sharply divergent views on how to carry out the war in Iraq, how to deal with North Korea and its nuclear program and how to rally allies to America's interests.
But sharp differences also exist in the candidate's positions on health care, taxes, employment, energy, the environment and just about any other issue you can name. The policies of the next president will affect how much you pay for a prescription, how much it costs to gas up your car, the make up of the Supreme Court, the size and deployment of our armed forces and how America is viewed and treated by the other nations of the world.
If you are one of those people who think the issues mentioned above are too far over your head for your vote to count, remember that the last presidential election came down to a relative handful of votes in one state.
Think also about the issues that this election will affect that are closer to home. Ohio and Kentucky will each decide whether to amend their constitutions to ban gay marriage. The city of Cincinnati will decide if it wants to repeal Article XII of the city charter, which has prohibited any local ordinances that offer protections based on sexual preference.
Ohio is electing Supreme Court justices. In Hamilton County there are issues about funding Drake Hospital and services for the mentally retarded. There are more school issues on the Ohio ballot this fall than ever before, including Cincinnati Public Schools and 18 other districts in the region. A successor will be chosen to run the scandalized Hamilton County Prosecutor's office. Throughout the region there are choices for commissioners, coroners, engineers, clerks, sheriffs, recorders, treasurers and judges.
In Kentucky there are numerous local municipal races. Both states are electing representatives their statehouses, to Congress and the U.S. Senate.
If you want to influence any of these issues or races, you have to vote. But in order to vote, you have to first register. If you are already registered, encourage someone who isn't to do the same. If you haven't registered yet, do it before the day is done.
Info online
For information on how and where to register:
