Staff Editorial: A plea for election day

Today, the course of the United States for the immediate future will be decided.

With an economy in tumult, a potential war with Iraq looming, the constant threat of terrorist attack and, more locally, a poor job market and failing schools in Pennsylvania, the leaders that are elected today will almost certainly have a profound effect on the lives of every person living in the United States and, indeed, the world.

The balance of power in both the House of Representatives and the Senate could tip in either way. Here in Pennsylvania, the race for governor presents citizens with stark choices about what directions the Commonwealth will go over the next four years.

All of these are reasons why it is crucial for everyone who is eligible to make the effort to go out and vote today.

To those of you who have just returned from the polls and those who have voted in their home states by absentee ballot, we salute you. To those who have not, we urge you to get out and vote before the polls close tonight at 8 p.m.

Disaffection among voters with the political process does not have a single, easily rectified cause. Apathy and cynicism are borne of more than most talking heads would have you believe.

But through it all, there is one certainty -- if you do not vote, the men and women elected to office today will not pay attention to your needs, your wishes and your hopes.

Politicians lavish attention on those blocs of people who are reliable voters -- the elderly, the affluent, the special interests -- and with good reason. Energy and attention spent on groups that do not vote -- most notably, students and young people -- is, in a very real political sense, wasted.

There's a lot at stake in this election and a lot riding on these races. Make sure that those who represent you hear your voice in the voting booth.

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