Right to vote is up to you

Anchorage had an election recently where voters decided who would be mayor, and there were other hot-button issues on the ballot as well. One was vigorously debated on media websites as well as on the street.

The day of the election started out well, then the unthinkable happened. More than half of the polling places ran out of ballots. Voters were turned away. Some went to other polling places only to be turned away again and again.

When I heard the news about this I was, frankly, shocked. I have never heard of this happening. I have been a registered voter since I was 18 — I’ll be 51 this month — and lived in many states.

What this boils down to is the hard fact that the fundamental American right to vote was denied to some citizens. Just that is deeply disturbing.

The fault is two-fold, though. The city of Anchorage messed up in supplying ballots to its various polling centers, which is being looked into by the city council and the ACLU. It will not be easy to find the faults, but I do hope they find a solution to rectify this grave mistake so it never, ever happens again. It is a lucky thing this was a local city election and not a state or national one. My head spins at the mere thought of a grand screw-up like that.

The second fault is going to be hard for many to swallow, but it is the honest truth. The second fault falls squarely on the shoulders of the voters themselves. That’s right — voters. Although it is a fundamental right for all American citizens, fought for and defended by countless thousands for more than 200 years, many people today don’t vote. They’ve failed to register, failed to update that registration as they move and keep it current. And most of all, they’ve failed to vote at all. That is a bitter pill to swallow.

It is also the easiest thing to correct and the simplest thing to do. While the city of Anchorage is debating, pulling their collective hair out of their heads on how to correct their mistakes, the residents of that city — and this goes out to the rest of the state — can do something about their part in this mess.

Register to vote.

This is your right. This solution is yours as an American, but only yours if you do something about it.

That is only the first part. The second and most important part of the solution is simply to use that right and vote. Otherwise, that right falls into the dustbin.

Oh, I have heard all the excuses — my vote doesn’t count, I haven’t got the time to register, why bother, and countless others. I have only one word for those excuses — bull.

When I was in Iraq, my unit was sent up to Mosul in early 2005. Back then it was a nightmare as the fighting there could be fierce. I was part of Task Force Tacoma with the 81st Brigade. We got the mission to provide security for the area’s first elections. We built barricades from scrap metal, and provided security and bedding for election officials and polling place security in Mosul and neighboring suburbs.

Insurgents had a dim view of this and threatened to kill or bomb anyone who tried to take part in the election. Well, on the day of the election, they failed. People for the first time in their lives went out and voted. They braved death threats and much more to cast their ballots. The turnout was close to 81 percent. If those people could do all that in spite of all the threats of death, we should do much better.

Sadly we don’t.

Our nation, the land of the free and home of the brave, has the sad distinction of having a horrible voter turnout and the highest voter apathy. You, and I do mean you, have the means to turn this around.

First, if you are of voting age and a citizen, register to vote. Then, know where your polling station is. Keep it that information up to date. Then, you must make the effort to do the last and most important thing — vote, cast your ballot. An election only works if people make the effort. This country is founded on these principles.

So what are you waiting for? Get off your duff and do the American thing and use that precious right. Get out and vote. It only works when you use it. This veteran does, so should you.

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.