Excersize your rights!

The following is a public service announcement sponsored by The American Umlaut.

It's Tuesday, November 4th. Election Day. It's actually been Election Day for twenty two hours here in Japan already, but it's just beginning at home and the polls won't close on the west coast until tomorrow afternoon for me. Which is torture - I've been following this campaign seriously for about two years, so this is like pushing Christmas back a day.

Please go vote. I don't care who for. Vote Republican, vote Democratic, vote Libertarian, vote Communist. Voting is how you make your voice heard - a vote for a third party candidate won't put that candidate in power, but it sends a message to the major parties that you are prepared to vote for someone who's willing represent your views. You can't expect a political party to adopt policies that appeal to people who can't be arsed to get down to a polling booth.

And remember that your ballot contains a lot more than just a list of presidential candidates - on this single day, Washingtonians will decide whether to invest their tax dollars in a highway expansion project, Californians will decide whether to amend their constitution to discriminate against homosexuals, Michigan will decide whether to allow state funding for stem cell research. And across the country, thousands of the public servants that make up the government, our government, will be hired and fired by the American people.

Our democracy can only work if the people make their voices heard. So please take the time today to get to a polling place and tell the government what you'd like it to do. The lines are going to be long all over the place; bring a book, bring your DS, bring a lawn chair, bring a friend.

I'm excited to wake up tomorrow and find out what we decided. Have a wonderful Election Day.