Rock the house; Voting officers here to help

  • Published
  • By Capt. Garry Elliott
  • 90th Comptroller Squadron
FE WARREN AFB, WYO. --  Once again, it's that time of year -- the time for the best things in life. 

Fall brings us the turning of the leaves, the start of hockey season and most importantly, election day. 

Unfortunately, it's also the time of year for too many people to dust off their list of excuses why they don't vote. As the installation voting assistance officer, I would like to take a couple of minutes to poke fun ... I mean holes, at some of my favorites. 

However, let me start by reminding everybody that voting is not only a privilege, it's your responsibility. 

The right to vote is granted to us by the same constitution that we have taken an oath to "support and defend." Part of that support is to remember our core value of service before self and vote. 

That being said, let's take a look at some of my favorite excuses on why people don't vote. 

"Politics don't affect me." 

Are you kidding me? We are the ultimate tool of foreign politics. Everything from our personnel strength to the level of services downtown are directly affected by the individuals we elect. 

Put another way, if you don't vote, you have no right to complain about the condition of the roads, buildings or even the fact that you're overworked because you're covering for our deployed members. 

Another common excuse is "They're all the same," or "Why vote for the lesser of two evils?" You might just as well say that you don't feel like doing the research. With the internet, you can do as much research as you need to make a more informed decision. 

The only way to vote for a candidate that believes exactly as you is to vote for yourself, otherwise, find the one that you either agree with on most issues, or on those that are most important to you. 

My personal favorites are "It takes too much time," and "It's too hard." 

As luck would have it, there are a number of unit voting assistance officers around base that are here to help you. 

Filling out the form to request a ballot only takes a couple of minutes and many states let you complete it online. Go to http://www.fvap.gov or contact your voting officer for more information. 

We are required to make 100% contact, so if you haven't been contacted by a voting officer yet, you will be soon. 

There will also be a table at the BX next week where a UVAO will be available to help in any way possible. 

With all that said, here's the bottom line: We have the honor to live in a country where we elect our leaders, and thousands of our fellow service men and women have died ensuring we have that right. 

This year, forget all the excuses, be smart, do your part and vote.