Not to vote is to vote NO! on democracy

Tomorrow is election day. Locally, we’re faced with what may be the most basic ballot we’ve ever seen. There are three items:

• One school board seat for which the candidates are: liberal mom, christian conservative dad, or write-in other;
• One Yes / No on a capital bonding amount;
• One Yes / No on an operating levy

Would that all our choices were that straight forward.

Other places have more challenging decisions and so we’ve reproduced below an email reminder we received this morning from Conservation Minnesota, in case you need a reminder or help voting tomorrow.

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Tomorrow is Election Day. Do you have a plan to make sure you don’t miss your opportunity to participate in the election process?  Ask yourself these questions ahead of time: What time of day will you vote? Where will you be coming from at that time? How will you get there? Will you go with someone or vote by yourself? Will your children be with you? Do you have someone to watch them? Do you know where you vote? You can check Minnesota’s Polling Place Finder if you are unsure. Minnesota has a strong tradition of voter turnout. In 2020, a presidential election year, Minnesota had the highest turnout rate in the country, with nearly 80% of eligible Minnesotans voting! Although federal and statewide races aren’t on the ballot this year, several local elections are. Let’s keep turnout high in 2023! We encourage all Minnesotans to protect the air, climate, and water with their vote. In-person early voting locations are already open in every county. Visit the Secretary of State’s website to find your polling place and learn who’s on your ballot. Happy Voting!

Paul Austin Executive Director

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Meanwhile, today is cloudy, windy, and the headlines continue to offer depressing reading. I’ve therefore put them out of mind and focused on the Christmas issue of Yankee magazine that arrived in today’s mail. Your obedient servant is a classic example of “You can take the man out of New England but you can’t take New England out of the man.” Fortunately, we live somewhere that a relatively short drive lets me enjoy several clusters of New England residential architecture. That’s something for which I need to remember to be thankful come the 23rd. It’s a treat when one’s home away from home reminds one of home. It’s also a treat when elections turn out as good, caring, folks hope they will. May all our results be the kind for which we’ll be thankful later.

1^st VOTE

By Kamilah Aisha Moon

It was hers.

She had this choice

behind curtained bliss,

Dad’s chest full on the other side

as her tapered hand

pulled the lever.

No matter how wide

the final margin,

a lone ballot

never counted so much.

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