Get out and vote

Voting is an act of faith. When you mark a ballot you are, consciously or not, stating that you believe in the integrity of the election system, the value of a republican form of government and that your one vote does matter. If a substantial majority of Americans ever reaches a level of cynicism that rejects this faith, the nation will be in serious trouble.

It shouldn't be necessary for us ever to have to write an editorial urging Utahns to vote. For many years, people in this state took pride in their civic engagement and their level of voter participation. But in recent years the voting trend in Utah has been decidedly downward.

As with any statistic, voter turnout rates should be examined carefully and skeptically. Too many people rely on a figure that simply compares the number of ballots cast with the number of people who are of an eligible age to vote. This ends up counting people who, while old enough, still are ineligible because, among other things, they are convicted felons or have not obtained citizenship. Recent studies show this population has grown to about 10 percent or more today, which is much higher than, say, 40 years ago.

A better measure is to compare ballots cast to the number of truly eligible potential voters. One such comparison done by George Mason University found that Utah had a 31.8 percent turnout in 2006, the last non-presidential election similar to the one tomorrow. We hardly need to point out that this is dismal.

Tomorrow, Americans collectively have a chance to change the course of the nation through House and Senate races. They can determine the course of their state governments through races for governor and state legislatures. And they have a say in the races that most directly concern them — those for school boards and other local offices and for numerous ballot measures. The lives and pocketbooks of every Utahn will be affected by the outcomes.

Each registered voter should have received a Voter Information Pamphlet in the mail, providing important information on each of the items on the ballot. If you are registered but haven't read this, there is still time. Most candidates also have web sites, and the archives of this newspaper's web site can be searched to gain further information. In the Information Age, voters have more opportunities than ever to cast an informed ballot.

A U.S. Census Bureau report a few years ago offered a interesting glimpse into the electorate. It found that, of the 142 million Americans who registered to vote in 2004, only 16 million stayed home. Of those, 11 percent said they did so because they felt voting wouldn't make a difference. Of the 32 million others who never registered, only 4 percent gave a similar reason.

Taken together, this group of hard-core cynics added to just over 3 million people, which is miniscule compared with the total voting-age population.

That's good news. It means an overwhelming majority still has some faith in the system that governs their community and nation. But to have that faith and not cast a ballot would be a shame.