THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 24, 1995 TAG: 9508230011
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
We say we want less government, but resist cuts to programs. We say we want lower taxes, but love big-ticket items like entitlements and defense. Worst of all, we complain about government but refuse to do our part to change it. We don't vote.
Low voter turnout is a continuing scandal in America. At a time of serious fights over important issues, voter apathy is particularly baffling. But it's a fact.
This fall a watershed election will decide whether Republicans gain control of the legislature in Richmond. Next fall, a watershed election will decide whether Republicans keep control of Congress and win the presidency. Yet these decisions will be made by a minority of eligible voters.
In Hampton Roads, the percentage of adults registered to vote ranges from a high of 72 percent in Chesapeake to an abysmal 42 percent in norfolk. In between are Suffolk with 63 percent of adults registered, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach with 58 percent and 57 percent respectively.
A fraction of those registered to vote actually make it to the polls. And since there are two parties contending for this fraction of a fraction, it's not unusual for the winning candidate to capture 25 percent or less of potential votes.
In the 1992 presidential year, only 55 percent of eligible voters went to the polls. In the election of 1994 that turned both houses of Congress over to the Republicans, only 38.8 percent of registered voters went to the polls. The winning Republicans got only 19 percent of the votes actually available.
If history repeats itself, only one citizen in four could decide in 1996 how much we'll all pay in taxes and whether the money will be spent on schools or prisons, corporate welfare or aid to the poor, a strong defense or a bloated bureaucracy, whether the budget will be balanced and entitlements will be cut.
If you don't care what happens in Richmond and Washington, relax. If you're content to let your neighbor decide what happens to your money and your country, stay home. But if you want a voice, you've got to vote. And the time to register is now. MEMO: To vote in the fall election
The deadline for registration is Oct. 10. Here are the numbers of
local Registrar of Voters offices.
Chesapeake: 547-6141 Norfolk: 664-4353 Portsmouth:
393-8644 Suffolk: 925-6391 Virginia Beach: 427-8683
KEYWORDS: VOTER REGISTRATION by CNB