OUR VIEW: You are registered, now vote!

Staff Editorial
Published: October 10, 2008

» SUMMARY: The rush to become qualified to vote is further proof that Culpeper County residents want their voices heard in the November election.

Voting is the ultimate expression of freedom.

There are places in the world where such a luxury is only a dream.

Thankfully, here in our country a lot of brave souls died so we can live that dream every time the polls open.

Even though we have the right to express our political views and cast our ballot for the leaders we feel will best represent our interests, still many choose not to register.

Reasons for not registering vary from not wanting to serve on a jury to just plain old apathy. But no excuse is a good one when it comes to avoiding the ballot box.

That’s why it was refreshing to see so many people rushing at the deadline to make sure they were properly registered for one of the most important elections in our lifetime.

The Culpeper County Registrar’s Office saw more than 650 people signup on the final day.
To put that into perspective, our county has about 27,200 registered voters — an increase of more than 2,300 since February’s presidential primary.

Such a dramatic jump shows that interest is high and that more and more people want to be part of the democratic process.

According the U.S. Census Bureau, Culpeper County has about 34,181 people who are of voting age.

That means nearly 80 percent of Culpeper’s voting-age population is registered, a rate much higher than the national average of 67 percent.

We must remember that registration is just the first step in the process.

Now we call on everyone to take the next step and go to the polls.

Our country is depending on you.