I could spew all the standard quotes and lingo about the importance of voting in general – that it is your right or duty, that we owe it to the men and women that fight for our country, that minorities especially should take advantage of this area they can have a voice in – but since this is a day of local elections, versus national elections, I want to stress the importance of local elections.

While in national elections – for President and Congress – we see turnouts of 40-50%, in local elections it is more 10-20%. Yet in national elections our vote is one of hundreds of millions for people that create policy for many things we are affected by minimally. Yes they set policies for the nation which affect us all but there are many more areas that more directly – and more quickly – affect you that are determined by state, county, and city officials. The officials determine your level of community focus on law enforcement, education, waste management, parks and recreation, really your community’s overall standard of living.

I have one caveat to the blanket statement that everyone should get out and vote to exercise that right. Please educate yourself beforehand. If there is any thing worse than not voting it is just randomly or partisan voting without understanding the players. This is even more important if there are any referendums. Please know what the issue is and what the vote is for.

So please, get out and vote today, but please do so only if you have educated yourself on the candidates and issues.