Poll Patrol

Inundated with commercials plugging this candidate and ripping that one?

Well, today, all of those trash-talking advertisements will come to end.

And so do the various political races you’ve heard about for weeks.

Yes, voting has commenced.

The Oval Office is not vacant, but that’s no reason to be apathetic about making it out to the polls.

Get out there today, express your constitutional liberties, and cast a vote.
College-aged voters don’t like to hear about their carefree attitude toward the electoral process, but the facts are there: we don’t vote.

In not casting a vote, the politicians who get elected will have it that far by this nation’s most reliable vote – the senior
citizen.

According to the U.S. Census, just 47 percent of registered voters aged 18 to 24 cast a vote in the 2004 election.

Meanwhile, roughly 72 percent of citizens aged 55 and older pulled a lever.

See a trend?

In avoiding the polls, college-aged voters are placing issues like higher education
and financial aid in the hands of those who see social security as a primary concern.

There are several key races that could change the way you see politics (and might also help dictate the 2008 presidential race).

Incumbent Gov. Ed Rendell will face off against newcomer Republican Lynn Swann in this state’s gubernatorial race.

And Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., will attempt to thwart Democratic opponent Bob Casey, the state’s treasurer, for a senate
seat.

So the options are out there for YOU to get in the know and cast an educated vote.

A lengthy story on the front page of this newspaper details everything you’ll need to know about the candidates.

Likewise, an all-volunteer-driven Web site called Vote-Smart offers biographical
information on every candidate in every race in the nation.

The site provides visitors with information
about all the political hopefuls.

This isn’t just second-hand information,
either. This is the information Vote-Smart obtained on its own from the candidates
themselves.

Professional and political experience,
hometown, religion, age, it’s all listed there on its site. Even if you somehow
needed to know the names of the candidate’s children, they are listed.

So what’s the point of all this?

Get out and vote. If you don’t, someone
else will.

Go on – your country is depending on you.