A person that doesn’t vote vs. an uninformed voter

Which hurts the election process more? A person who doesn’t vote or a person who votes without understanding who and/or what they are voting on? 

Not voting means you are letting others decide what you’re going to live with for years. It is like letting someone decide what you are going to eat meal after meal after meal. Or what color your hair should be. These may be simple examples, but you get that you are giving away your power to choose. 

Then you have the uniformed voter. The one who blindly votes for or against a person/issue. They aren’t sure or they believe what they have heard or seen without verifying the source. They randomly cast their vote. It’s like using a shotgun. You may hit something or a lot of somethings, but they aren’t the target you wanted to hit. 

Voting and being an informed voter are hugely important to our process. 

Political parties and candidates deliberately throw random information at the last minute to go after the undecided voters. The information is usually highly dramatic and plays on fears. There is very little time to research. That is why we as voters need to be informed long before we vote. 

Early voting is open now at the courthouse. Otherwise go to your voting place on Nov. 3, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Be nice to the poll workers. 

Also, the county does not post results until all the votes have been received at the courthouse election night. Please don’t call at 7:15 p.m. asking for them. Results are posted as soon as the clerk’s office is able; it takes a few hours as the polling workers have procedures to follow before heading to the courthouse. Remember, too, they come from all over the county. It takes longer to compile the votes when the clerk’s phones are nonstop ringing. I watch and hear this happen every election night as I wait for the results (like you) to report to the Associated Press.