By Simon Ambit
As the sun is setting on the horizon of many elected terms, the campaign trails have been well trod. Some will rise again to serve another term in current offices, while the winds of change will usher in the changing of the guard for other positions. With Nov. 8 just ahead of us, it is voting season in our great United States of America and every vote cast has the potential to make a difference.
Looking back through the ballot boxes of time, there have been many elections and they have been as unique and varying as the candidates involved in them. From our first presidential election, running nearly a month long (lasting from Dec. 15, 1788 to Jan. 10, 1789), in which George Washington bolstered a commanding (some sources claim a unanimous) victory; to a recent election of local county commissioners that was determined by a difference of only a dozen or two votes. From the first settlement in Jamestown until present day, we as Americans have been voting on the decisions affecting us as citizens and for those individuals who should lead the great people of this nation. Our privilege, our right to vote, has been fought for, earned, preserved and exercised. I believe it is essential that we continue to keep it that way.
Don’t get caught up in the thinking that your vote cannot make a difference, because it most certainly can. Utah is currently a potential battleground state on the presidential ballot due to local candidate Evan McMullin. And with several local elections historically being determined by a difference of as few as 12 to 30 votes, your individual ballot will be a determining factor this year.
In the spring of 1984, Lee Greenwood sang the words, “I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me. And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today. Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land; God bless the USA!”
I believe that on Nov. 8, it is important for each of us who are eligible and able to do our part to stand up next to one another at the voting precincts and defend our rights, freedoms and futures by electing those candidates who will make wise and righteous decisions for our local area and our great country. Life is good, stand up and be counted.