Whether we like it or Not
By Albert B. Kelly
Whether we like it or not, one of the two people running for
president will step into the role of the most powerful leader in the world,
with all that this implies, on Tuesday, November 8th. And whether we like it or not, that person
will broadly shape some of the contours of our lives.
So here’s the thing, are you registered to vote? If not, the
deadline to get registered is October 18th (nest Tuesday). You must
be a U.S. citizen, 17 years old (18 years old to actually vote), a county
resident for 30 days before the election, and not be on probation or parole for
a felony conviction
If you are not registered to vote, you can fill-out a Voter
Registration form that is to be mailed or hand-delivered by the October 18th
deadline. You can get the form online by visiting one of two places:
Once you complete the registration form, you can mail it in or
bring it to the Board of Elections at 555 Shiloh Pike, Monday to Friday between
8:30am and 4:00pm. If you have questions, you can call at (856) 453-5801.
Maybe some people don’t vote because they can’t get to the
polls or they’re too busy. In New
Jersey, any voter can vote by mail for any reason by using a “Vote by Mail”
ballot which you can apply for via the links below in English or Spanish.
You have to be a qualified and registered voter to apply for
a “Vote By Mail” ballot and the deadline for requests by mail is 7 days before the
election (November 1st).
Someone using a “Vote By Mail” ballot may also apply in
person at the County Clerk’s Office at 60 W. Broad Street, on any working day
until 3:00 p.m. up to the day before the election (November 7th).
If you are registered, but you’re not sure where to vote,
you can find out online by visiting
You can also call the Board of Elections at (856) 453-5801
or the County Clerk’s Office at 856-453-4860.
Registered or not, people have a lot of excuses for not
voting. I’m troubled by the number of
people who say they’re not going to vote because they don’t like either
candidate- as if it were a choice between honey mustard and barbeque- between Jazz
and heavy metal.
I think liking a candidate is a plus if you can get there,
because it means we cast our vote with some enthusiasm and confidence. But
whether we like any of them or not, one of them will sit in the seat of power
and what happens there will impact our lives. In that sense, we must choose.
In voting, regardless of anything else, sometimes we’re
simply selecting the one we think will do the least amount of harm; whether to
institutions, laws, rights, a fragile peace, a recovering economy, or whatever.
Whether we vote or not, someone will be entrusted with an
enormous amount of power to do either good or ill, sometimes it comes down to
choosing the one we think best understands the limits of power, but also the
opportunities that power brings.
I’m surprised at the number of people who buy into the “my-
vote- doesn’t- count” idea. I can see how anyone might believe this, but then I
remember that the 2000 presidential election came down to a few hundred votes
in Palm Beach County Florida- that night every vote was huge.
Maybe I’m naïve, but I do believe that every vote counts
because it represents a voice and every voice matters. Each vote, cast in
secret, is a single stitch, part of larger pattern of threads that when stitched
together- form a truly American fabric.
Whether that fabric shreds or rips or frays at the edges- or
if it is strong and durable and able to withstand the storms in our national
journey- depends to some degree on whether we engage by voting, and then of
course by how we vote.
So then, maybe we’re left with this; someone will be
president whether we like them or not, so choose wisely. Don’t leaning choose toward
the past because we can’t change it; choose leaning toward the future precisely
because we can.
Your vote may seem like just another “either-or” choice, one
of millions and of little consequence, but every vote matters, whether we like
it or not.