LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Voters should educate themselves before voting

By: Dear Editor: | SCNow
Published: June 13, 2008

On Election Day, I had the privilege to be a poll watcher at a local precinct.

As a young, female American, I am always excited when Election Day rolls around, and I am able to exercise my right to vote.

After research on each candidate and with the knowledge from the media of how the actual voting process works, I cast my ballot.

While continuing to be a poll watcher for the next 12 hours, I became appalled and extremely disappointed at the general public’s knowledge on the voting process.
There were people who came with no idea who belonged to which party or understood that they could vote Republican for the state senate and then vote Democrat for the city offices.

I believe the media could have done a better job advertising the options a voter had in the days prior to the election, but there is no excuse for a voter mistaking a candidate’s party. I feel as an American citizen, people should take the time and pay attention to the candidates and to their particular platforms before making an informed decision.

There were people who actually asked the poll manager who was running for office and what party they belonged to. Shame on you.

I hope people will become more educated and aware of the impact one vote makes before voting in the November election.

I also would like to encourage voters to have a mind of their own and not be persuaded by outside influences. I feel we have grown tremendously as a community in the past 13 years, and we owe the majority of that growth and development to one man, Mayor Frank E.Willis.

I can only hope when it is all said and done that we will have him in our corner for another four years.

Brittany M. Lanford
Florence