Today is voting day and by now many have already cast their ballots. Most polls will be open until 8 p.m., however, and we take this opportunity to make one last pitch to the busy, the discouraged and the indifferent.
Please vote.
The ballot choices are especially important for those discouraged by economic hardship and the uncertainty of the recovery. After two years in the majority, Democrats have not turned the economy around, but the stimulus funds they provided averted a depression and set the stage for a slow recovery.
Our hope for the national results is that patience and sensibility will limit the inevitable Republican gains in Congress.
Beyond the national political drama, there are plenty of local and regional issues to make a trip to polls worthwhile.
Every Maine legislative seat is up for grabs, and the collective outcome these hundreds of races will be just as influential as Maine’s choice for governor.
The race for governor is for many the most compelling reason to vote this year. The closeness of the three-way race between Libby Mitchell, Paul LePage and Eliot Cutler means that each and every vote must be considered essential.
Also on the state ballot is a high-stakes bet by entrepreneurs to lock up the rights to open a casino in western Maine. Two state-sponsored bond issues ask voters to approve funds for a state dental college, and for purchase of conservation land.
In Biddeford, voters will decide whether or not to take a chance on a proposal for a slot machine parlor and harness racing track.
In Sanford, critics of new trash disposal rules designed to promote recycling are campaigning to overturn them.
In Arundel, the owners of a Route 1 tavern have written their own zoning rules and are asking for voters to back them, over Planning Board objections.
Town council members will be elected in Sanford and Old Orchard Beach.
Today we’re counting down the last hours in which voters hold great power and influence. By tomorrow, politicians will be either gleeful or sorrowful, but either way, their concern for the average citizen will be less than before.
Many voters will also have sorrows tomorrow, depending on their view of the results. But experience shows that both political defeats and victories are fleeting.
If the tide, as expected, runs against the Democrats, their supporters should recall the boast of President George W. Bush after his narrow re-election victory in 2004. “I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it,” he said.
For his administration, it was all downhill from there.
— Comments? Contact Managing Editor Nick Cowenhoven at nickc@journaltribune.com.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
