Voting in a privilege we have in this country.  Unfortunately, only about 30 % of people vote.  We have had voting rates in the general election go over 50% but this is rare. 

In North Carolina we have a population of apx 8.5 million people, we have 5,567,424 registered voters; 2,533,424 being registered as Democrat and 1,923,047 Republican the remaining 1,110,953 are registered as unaffiliated.

The below is a compilation of facts about voting and contains some opinions of how you should register and vote to be an effective citizen and make the most of one of our most precious rights of voting in a free society.

Voter Registration

You may register at any one stop voting place from April 17th to May 3 and vote at the same time, this is sometimes referred to as one-stop voting.   However, you cannot change your party affiliation during this time.

The Primary:

One of most import but most ignored in the primary.  Not all Democrats or Republicans are equal.  In the race for the governor here in NC the primary will decide who will be your next governor.  Voting in the primary is as or even more important than the voting in the general election.

Opinion:  We have not had a Republican governor in NC since 1992 and given the view of the Republican party nationally it is highly unlikely we will have a Republican governor in 2008.  This makes the primary the most important race for governor in 2008.  Who wins the Democratic primary will be the next governor of NC.  If you want to be a part of the process and make a difference you must vote in the primary.  The very best way to vote in the primary is by registering as unaffiliated and vote for the Democratic candidate you believe will best represent you, even if you are a conservative you can vote for the most conservative Democratic candidate thus insuring a conservative will be elected.

Don't Waste Your Vote:

I hear this all the time don't waste your vote, I think this means don't vote for the person who doesn't have the most money or who is not number one in the polls.  So like mind numbed robots we look at the polls or the news to tell us who is ahead and because we want to vote for a winner we vote the way they have directed us.  I hope this is wrong. I hope we as a populous are not that shallow as to put our own ego in front of our good common sense.  You see if that is the way we are going to do this let's just publicize who raises the most money and then crown them the winner the day before the election.  We would same millions on an election that has already been resolved by the media.

I think voting is a private and personal thing.  It comes from the heart not from the television.  If you think the candidate with the most money will make the best elected official then by all means use this as your personal criteria to vote.  But if your criteria is to vote for the person who will do the best job for all the citizens of the community  then that person may not be the richest or the one who can raise the most money.  I have looked at a web site for a candidate, right in the middle is a big green button that says "donate" if that is their most important thing they have to tell you that's Ok, but I operate differently.  My emphasis is on the people not the money so on my website you will see issues and information that you can use to make an educated determination of who to vote for.

Can you waste your vote?  Sure and the best way to waste your vote is to not follow your head or your heart and vote for the person with the most money.  Do this and your violate your own personal integrity and then your vote will surely be wasted.

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