“To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers.
One who does not vote has no right to complain.” – Louis L’Amour
Hi Voters, er, I mean, Writers:
Think your vote doesn’t count? Here’s some statistics:
In 1649, by just one vote, England’s King Charles I literally lost his head when the vote to behead him was 68 to 67.
In 1776, one vote gave America the English language instead of German
In 1800, one vote won Thomas Jefferson the electoral college
In 1845, one vote brought Texas into the Union
In 1846, one vote decided on war with Mexico
In 1867, one vote ratified the Alaska purchase – paving the way for the territory to be America’s largest state
In 1868, one vote saved President Andrew Johnson from impeachment
In 1876, one vote gave Rutherford B. Hayes the Presidency of the U.S.
California, Oregon and Washington became states by one vote
In 1919, one vote in the Senate approved sending the 19th Amendment to the states for passage
In 1920, one vote in the Tennessee Legislature passed the 19th Amendment giving U.S. women the right to vote
In 1923, one vote gave Adolph Hitler leadership of the Nazi party
In 1941, one vote saved Selective Service – just weeks before Pearl Harbor was attacked
In 1948, one vote per precinct gave Harry Truman the Presidency
In 1960, one additional voter per precinct in Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, and Texas would have denied John F. Kennedy the Presidency and placed Richard Nixon in the White House eight years sooner.
Voting is our hard earned right. Maybe our Constitution should read:
“We the voters of the United States, in order to form a more perfect place to vote, establish the right of everyone to vote, insure domestic peace of mind through voting, provide for the right to roar by voting, promote the welfare of everyone by voting, and secure the rights that voting gives us if we vote and the rights that voting secures for our children if they vote, and not to mention our children’s children who will most certainly vote since we take all of them in carloads to the polls with us to watch us vote vote vote, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America, where you use your vote or lose your voice – so vote vote vote vote vote.”
The deadline for registering to vote is Monday October 4 at 9PM. You may drop your completed voter registration forms off at the Franklin County Board of Elections at 280 E. Broad, Room 100 or (for other counties) at the Secretary of State’s Office at 180 E. Broad, 15th floor. Forms are available at most libraries.
The general election is November 2nd.
If you write this month, fantastic. Regardless, don’t forget to vote.
Nita(use it or lose it)Sweeney
(c)2004 by Nita Sweeney
