Voting is a gift and a responsibility. It came at great cost to achieve and to hold onto, with our veterans protecting us and our freedoms.
Voting is now a right of every citizen, after civil rights victories lead to the passing of the 15th, 19th, and 23rd constitutional amendments. Voting rights were strengthened with the 24th and 26th amendments.
As citizens, it is our duty and responsibility to vote. Too many have sacrificed too much to squander such an opportunity. This responsibility requires careful thought and effort to research into which candidate will best represent you and can be trusted to carry out the duties of their office in the best interest of the public that they serve.
We all have the power to choose who will represent us in all levels of government during this election, from the U.S. House of Representatives all the way to the county register of probate. While admittedly there are some positions that honestly don’t need to ascribe to a political leaning, it’s still your choice whether to elect the candidates running (unopposed) for those posts!
For state level races, you have the choice between two – or three – candidates, all of whom have appeared on the front page of this paper and are profiled in Section A of this week’s edition. If you want to delve a bit deeper into their standings, videos of all four of our candidates forums are still available on The Lincoln County News Facebook page.
While the LCN firmly does not endorse candidates, we will say we are proud of those who have stepped up to serve if elected. Working in government can, at times, be a thankless job, and we hope they all remember the people they represent while they are up in Augusta.
As for the governor’s race and the 1st Congressional District, we’re not weighing in beyond a plea to do research beyond the attack ads on television and social media. Take it from an editorial team, fact checks are worth your time and effort, especially when it comes to your vote.
There is one group of people we want to throw our whole-hearted support behind: election workers.
The people checking voters in and counting our ballots are our friends and neighbors, many of whom work late into the night to make sure political parties and news sources can have up-to-date unofficial results. It takes a truly special person to be willing to call a newsroom at 1 a.m. to report final tallies and clarify their handwritten comments, and we appreciate their efforts.
This election cycle will be over in less than a week. Let’s have it go out on a high note.
Go vote!
