Exercise your right to vote

Registered voters in many school districts, among them some in Lincoln and Pottawatomie Counties, have the opportunity to exercise their right to vote in the upcoming Board of Education General election.

In looking over the sample ballots, there are four school board races in Lincoln County and in one of those districts school patrons also will decide a bond issue.

They include Meeker, Prague, Stroud and Wellston. Prague has a $28.3 million bond proposition on the ballot as well.

Lincoln County voters residing in the Luther School District have a $28.6 million bond proposition.

One of the freedoms we have as American citizens is a right to vote. I was 21 years old before I could register to vote, although when I turned 18 I was required to sign up with the Selective Service System.

For whatever reason, I have hung on to the original Selective Service System card that was issued to me.

In the school district I reside, there is a school board race and two school bond propositions. I received my Absentee ballot a couple of weeks ago.

Since I wasn’t familiar with either candidate in the race this time, I spoke to an individual I trust to gain some insight into who the two are.

I have tried throughout the years since I could vote to take that right very seriously. Most elections throughout the years, small or large, I’ve tried to cast my vote.

Today, when a person turns18, he or she can register to vote.

Having the right to vote by secret ballot without fear of repercussion is an important freedom.

It’s a privilege to cast my vote, so every time I have the opportunity I try and do so.

Even small elections like school board races and bond elections are vitally important, though turnouts for those types are often minimal.

In looking at totals in Lincoln County in the March 5 Presidential Preferential primary election about 4,357 bothered at all to cast a ballot. Total registered voters in the county reportedly number better than 20,000.

I think elections involving our school board members, county commissioners, sheriff, district attorney, judges, have much more of a significant impact on our daily lives than national elections.

My vote in those elections have a chance to count more and mean more than the larger ones.

Seldom anymore do I wait and cast my vote on Election Day at my designated precinct. I would easily say 99 percent of the time I will vote either In Person Absentee or by Absentee ballot. The local election boards do a good, in my opinion, of making people aware of when and how they can cast their ballots.

I spent all of 5 minutes a few months ago at my local county election board filling out a form that allows them to send me the ballots and instructions, with the deadlines, where I can easily vote by absentee ballot in each election this year in which I am eligible to cast a vote.

As I said, voting is a privilege, and we as American citizens should take it seriously.