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Posted on Nov 04 2005
After a longish campaign period, it may sound a trifle trite to admonish every qualified and registered voter to go out and exercise his or her right to vote. But given the fact that many in the former colonies and territories that became independent democratic nations after WWII take voting for granted, our record is heartening. The United States, on the other hand, has a track record of low voting turnouts during federal elections.
With representative democracy as our chosen way of decision making, choosing representatives in government is a vital task in civic responsibility. In the CNMI, we wrap the ritual with a fiesta atmosphere—in a family picnic ambience with a veneer of appointed somberness ala ‘wake and rosary,’ outside the polling places.
Compared to scenes around the world where ballot boxes are escorted by armed guards as voters edge to the polling places in fear and trepidation, we must take pride in the orderly and lively fashion by which we comport ourselves in the conduct of our elections.
Just next door, our neighbor’s tradition has become imbued with practices of overtly, covertly and subversively manipulating the exercise of ballot casting, counting, tabulating and reporting, so we must guard our procedures vigilantly so that corruptive elements remain at the gates, or at least, be the exception rather than the rule.
It has been suggested that, in the venerable tradition of newspapers endorsing candidates, the Saipan Tribune should editorially set out a criteria for analyzing election issues and subject the platform of candidates to scrutiny, then rate how the candidates measure up. The suggestion is well taken. When we define the yardstick, we will not hesitate to measure.
For now, let the minority residents who have the right to vote exercise the privilege. While we are at it, greet the neighbors, abrazo the relatives, high-five the man’hobens and amen the elders. They’ll be there outside the polling gates.
This is one habit we need not break. Vote.
