If you dislike what political officeholders at the local, state and national level are doing or have done, the surest way to register your disapproval is to get out and vote on Election Day.

If you don’t take the time to exercise the privilege given to you by our constitutional form of government, then you have no valid reason to criticize any of the actions taken by any officeholder, including those elected Nov. 6.

Millions of people around the world do not have that privilege and would give anything to have that freedom of choice along with all of the other freedoms we take for granted.

There are many races on the ballot for the general election. In Jackson County, we will elect a new sheriff, new county councilmen/councilwomen, a new clerk, a new recorder and school board members in Seymour and Crothersville and vote for the three state House members who representatives us the next two years. We also will be asked to help choose the state’s Ninth District Congressman and one of our two U.S. senators.

Turnout is typically lower in midterm elections. Four years ago, in Jackson County it was just 36 percent.

We have and can do much better than that. In fact, 69.3 percent of the voters went to the polls in 1990, and 55.8 percent of the registered voters cast ballots in 1994.

The average turnout for Jackson County in the seven midterm elections since 1990 is 49.7 percent. We can at least shoot for that number.

Voting has been made easier in recent years with the advent of early voting sites. There’s no reason not to vote.

The ballot is the only legal way we were given by the Founding Fathers to exercise control over the way in which our towns, cities, counties, states and nation are operated. Talking about a candidate you don’t like won’t get the job done, and neither will protesting or booing candidates or even running them out of a restaurant for that matter.

There’s just one way. Show up and vote Nov. 6 — if not earlier.

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