BETWEEN THE LINES: TO WORK, DEMOCRACY NEEDS YOUR VOTE ON ELECTION DAY

With the constant campaign ads airing on television and radio, nearly everyone in the country knows that next week is Election Day.

Locally, voters will be asked to decide nearly everything from choosing county officials to raising sales taxes.

In the news business, Election Day (or night in the case of a morning newspaper) is chock full of phone calls, precinct returns and late hours. It's about as chaotic as the newsroom gets all year. And it's plenty of fun.

Despite our best efforts to tell readers who won the contested races in their county, state and nation, statistics show that only half the population will head to the polls.

Most of the registered voters in the United States, for one reason or another, don't vote during elections. Local voters reflect the national image.

Surveys report that voters are too busy or don't understand the issues so they just don't vote.

I'm here to tell you that voting is necessary. It's what makes our democracy work.

In some countries of the world, citizens spend their entire lives waiting for a chance to choose their leaders, not have one handpicked by the ruling party or military.

Politics has always interested me. Ever since that elementary social studies lesson about how the government works and its checks and balances, I have been fascinated with politics.

For a while, I wanted to work on a campaign. I thought the machination of politics was what made all things happen in the world.

Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. But I don't think I'd be cut out for the campaign trail, especially after hearing the stories of friends who did work on campaigns.

I would want to work on a campaign I believed in and since I don't like false pretenses and the idea of spin doctors, those people whose sole purpose is to make their candidate look good regardless of the actual truth, finding such a job might prove difficult.

I once interviewed a White House intern who said that there is a person whose job is to make certain that no television camera picks up Al Gore's bald spot. Is that really a necessary political role?

Despite its optimistic hope for bringing about change, the political process can be evil. Negative campaigns air almost daily on local television and radio stations.

In Tennessee, a Republican senatorial candidate is charged with killing his opponent. Ads comparing voting records and claiming one candidate "hurts" a constituency group can't possible compete with the evilness of murder.

I can't see how a person would think a political seat and a victory at the polls is worth killing another person. It's really gotten to be a season of 'dirty politics' when candidates plot murders instead of planning campaign stops.

~Laura Johnston is a copy editor for the Southeast Missourian.