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The Herald and The Lantern

Election Day Is Your Say When it comes to that once a year opportunity to practice y democracy, voters in the U.S. and New Jersey put on a dismal display. Even the quadrennial Presidential elections don't command the voter turnout one would expect in a nation where the so-called average citizen has so much power And it’s not like individual votes don’t count. In the last Presidential election in Cape May County. Gerald Ford outpolled Jimmy Carter by just over 3,000 votes,Winning in the county by only an eight per cent plurality out ol a total of 40,000 ballots cast. The 1.900 Presidential election in New Jersey j/as about as close as it could be, with John Kennedy beating Richard Nixon by only 22,000 votes out of a total of 2.7 million — a percentage of victory of eight tenths on one per cent! WHILE IT’S OBVIOUS that every vote does make a difference, the turnout of voters is downright shocking. In the last Presidential election, for example, only 58 per cent of the voting age population in New Jersey bothered practicing good citizenship by voting. Thousands weren't even registered to vote. And even of those who were, only 79 per cent bothered going to the polls The 1976 Presidential election in New Jersey was about typical, since nationwide only 56.5 per cent of the voting age population participated in the election of a president. In the ’76 national election, the citizens of Utah showed the most concern with 70 per cent of the voting age population voting (78 per cent of the registered voters). Ohio voters that year led the nation , in the percentage of registered voters casting ballots (89 per cent) even though only 56 per cOnt of the total voting age population voted. THE WORST VOTING record in the last Presidential election was shared by Alaska and the District of Columbia where only 59 per cent of the registered voters voted. In Alaska that year, only 47 per cent of the voting age population voted: while in D.C. that figure was 31 per cent! Since 1960, turnout of the voting age population in Presidential elections has declined from 63 per cent to 55.4 per cent in 1972 (the year that 18-year-olds first became eligible to vote), coming up slightly four years later when

New Jersey’s |j Voter Registration Application: Your ticket to power.

The people you elect make all kinds of decisions affecting you and your family. The money they spend is your money, and your vote decides who will spend it. That's power. If you vote, you have it. Your vote counts. Elections can be won or lost by one vote, and that vote might be yours. If you’re not registered, do It now by completing the form below and mailing It to the New Jersey Department of State before October 6. , Remember—You have power. You can vote. Be a voter.

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56.5per cent voted in ’76. What all these statistics boil down to is that in recent years, only four out of seven U.S. citizens participated in electing the most powerful leader on Earth. While countless thousands in other lands die each year at the hands of totalitarian governments where

164

dictators control life, here in this democratic republic millions don’t care about voting and even of those registered, other millions don’t go to the polls. Today, one hears a lot about accountability in government (most often expressed about school districts where state law

Editor Advortl%ing Director Pubhthf Mtmmm M74S11 for How* or A^vorttelnj IwfocmotloR DEAD! INI*

re.K/er s forum

School Report Flunked On Plain English by Jane Ann Cunningham A report on the Avalon School District in a recent edition of the Herald is a sad example of bureaucratic gobbledygook. Bureaucrats delight in using long words and elaborate sentences either to hide what they really mean or to disguise the fact they are saying nothing. One would think that of all agencies of government, the branch dealing with education should be able to write a clear, concise and informative text. As an interested (Page 28 Please)

Wtdnewtoy, October 1.1*80

Qualification* of an ellglbl* applicant By the time of the next election, you must be 18 years old and a United States citizen. You must -also be a resident ot New Jersey and ot your county tor at least 30 days before the election.

REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS

Print In Ink— Use bell-point pen or rnnrker

Complete every section * which applies to you. Fill In item 5 It you were previously registered. Sign your name after completing the term; have a registered New Jersey voter witness your signature. Mail the completed lorn in an envelope to: NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF STATE ELECTION DIVISION P.O. BOX 1330 TRENTON, N.J. 08625 Your county will notify you upon receipt ol the form.

APPLICANT SIGN HERE WITNESS SIGN HERE

WITNESS MUST BE A REGISTERED VOTER OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY

strives to make administrators and teachers directly responsible for the outcome of the student’s education). IT IS HERE SUGGESTED that we as citizens cannot expect those in government to be more caring when far too many of us aren't willing to practice accountability one day a year. Surely it iih’t too much to ask those among us who walk their separate ways to join together one day out of 365 to help elect our leaders. There are those who complain about the calibre of candidates in any election. It seems that we each, as individuals in a great nation, owe it to ourselves to ask if we are being irresponsible citizens. Surely we cannot expect any more from our leaders if we ourselves fail in the most basic responsibility of citizenship. If we take election turnouts during the past 20 years as an indication, even that 63 per cent high figure hack in 1960 is a foiling grade.