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Why Vote? There are many reasons to go vote. In this column I want to deal with one or two of those reasons. There are many things that happen in our lives that we do not have much control over. This is probably more true on a National level than it is locally, however the one opportunity we have to influence events in our lives is the right to vote. The right to help select a person that will represent us in decisions that will affect us and our community. Wyoming has three electoral votes that count toward selecting a President for our country. That isn't much, however if the electoral college vote came out to be nearly a tie, then it would count. Wyoming is very likely to go republican, and that could be a reason you chose Wyoming as your home. However there is never a guarantee of that event either. So you should go vote in the national election because your have that right and it is your opportunity to make a choice. If we look at the state level our vote becomes more significant. We have less than 600,000 people living in our state. Not all of them are qualified to vote, or will choose to vote. Your one vote still isn't all that much of the total, however it counts as much as anyone's vote. Many state positions are tied much closer to us and not all of the voters will vote on these positions. Often the winner may be winning with only a few thousand votes. Your vote and the influence you have on others may become very important. At the county level we have about 14,000 people, not all are voters or will choose to vote. Now you have much more influence! There are county positions that will have an influence on you and your life. Isn't it important to help select who will represent you in decisions being made? Are you pleased with the overall decision made in the past? If so you probably want the same, or similar thinking, representatives in the future. If you are not pleased, who do you believe will help make the changes you would like? This is your chance! At the city level we have around 6,000 residents. Your city representatives will likely win with a little over a thousand votes. Would you like things to continue much as they have been, or do you want important changes made? If you want things to stay pretty much as they are you should vote for the representatives you think will make decisions as they have in the past, or new representatives that will make the same type of decisions. If you think changes need to be made, then vote for someone you think will help make those changes. When you want change think about what changes you want. Will it benefit you and most of the people in the community, or will it benefit a few at the expense of the others? Will the person you vote for continue to make good decisions for the community or will they fight for the change they/you want and then in the future not be able to make good decisions for the community. I believe it is important to have someone in office that will consistently make wise decisions for our community, even if they don't agree with me. I am only one person; there are about 6,000 other people that live here. We all disagree with each other at times, that is healthy for the community. Is it healthy for the community if a representative mostly looks out for a few people's interests? I think not! But that is just my opinion, not necessarily yours. ---PAGE BREAK--- What is important, is what you believe to be important. What do you believe is good for our community in the long run? Are the short term decisions more important than the long term decisions, or are the long term decisions what is important to you. You must decide, and you must decide who will best represent your wishes for this community. Your strongest influence is right here at home. Use your influence to help get what you believe is best for our community, our state and our nation. Talk to your friends and associates, share what you believe. Listen to your friends and associates, they might have insights that will help you. Be a positive influence in your community. Go Vote!