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'Freedom Requires Responsibility,' So Go Vote

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By BRIAN CORLEY, Special to the Tribune

Published: January 13, 2008

Who should come and vote Jan. 29?

All registered voters who want to have their voice heard on who the next president of our country should be and those persons who wish to express their opinion via the ballot box on the constitutional amendment dealing with property taxes in Florida.

As your supervisor of elections, I take the role of encouraging citizens to vote very seriously. I have in my office a poster that reads, "If you don't vote, you can't complain."

We all have opinions about candidates and issues, but as Americans we have a duty to vote and then come together afterward.

According to the Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network (a nonpartisan organization), only 41.4 percent of eligible voters in the United States turned out to vote in 2006. Even more troubling is an article in Parade Magazine, which highlighted that the United States ranked 139th out of 172 in voting participation for countries that held elections.

Surely, we can do better. We owe it to those who fought for our freedoms to be engaged in the voting process.

It has been said that democracy isn't a spectator sport, and although we have men and women who have crossed oceans to fight for our democracy and freedoms, others won't cross the street to vote.

I've had people approach me and say they were too busy to vote. But with three convenient ways to vote - absentee, early voting or by voting on Election Day - there can be no excuses not to perform our civic duty.

At the Pasco County Supervisor of Elections' Office, we use the phrase "Freedom Requires Responsibility." These three powerful words are meant to inspire and motivate our citizens to get involved by voting on Election Day.

I recently met a young man whose family had emigrated to the United States years ago from a communist country as political refugees. He came to America, worked hard, struggled and persevered. He attained a college degree and secured a good job. He is scheduled to receive his U.S. citizenship this year and epitomizes the American dream of opportunity and freedom!

He explained that in his former country, Americans were envied because of their right of free speech and ability to effect change through elections. Our democracy is unique because of the transparent nature of elections, our constitutional right of free speech and the role of the media, to name a few.

As mentioned above, Republicans, Democrats, other parties and "no party affiliation" all have a reason to vote in this election and subsequent ones. By law, Florida is a closed primary state, which means that you must be registered in a political party to vote in that party's primary.

The constitutional amendment also will be on the ballot, however. This means all eligible voters can - and should - vote Jan. 29.

The writer is Pasco County supervisor of elections.

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