Vote Smart!

Regardless of your party affiliation, I would think everyone can agree with the statements made in this article. In an editorial featured in The Dallas Morning News titled Don’t Vote Straight Ticket, the author made their point of view pretty clear, especially with their concluding statement “Be a smart voter: cast your ballot for the best candidates – not a single party.” They author makes it very clear that their intended audience is every voter - young, old, black or white – the importance of their vote and that each voter needs to make the most of their vote.

Many people get infuriated over the fact that some choose not to vote and the author makes it very clear of his or her stance on the importance of voting. But when they stated “even if you leave a few blank because you're not sure – [it] is well worth your time,” they also show that straight party voting is worse than not voting at all. I would have to agree on this in that the examples he laid out were pretty straight forward. I have many friends that, to my dismay, have admitted of doing such a wrongful deed of just picking all candidates that were of the same political affiliation and I have many of times had conversations with these same friends in regards to the candidates they have just helped elect. When I explained each candidate’s political view, specifically pointing out those that dealt with personal issues to the friends, they were shocked at what they had just promoted.

In the current Presidential election, candidate Republican John McCain has even dealt with party-identity crisis at one point. He seemed to dibble dabble on each side until he found a good fit for himself (or the best fit for the most personal gain, but what politician doesn’t do that, right?).

Overall, the author is trying to say that an uneducated vote that could potentially promote unwanted future changes is worse than an educated, unused vote. Please, vote smart!