Letters: Voter abstinence isn't democracy
Long Beach resident Luke, 4, sits on his father Matt's shoulders while voting for his favorite candidates on Election Day at Lindell Elementary School, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014. Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.
The letters under the headline "Readers say why they didn't vote" [Nov. 12] made excellent points about the problems with the system.
What the writers overlook is that if too many people protest by not voting, all they complain about may only get worse. The better way to protest is to always vote against the incumbent. If only those few incumbents are re-elected who actually represent the people and work for the greater good, then it will force elected officials, candidates and party leaders to actually work for the voters.
If the two-thirds of voters who didn't show up had voted, they could have gotten rid of all the incumbents.
Those who truly want to change how things are should get involved and work toward change. Doing nothing accomplishes nothing.
Mace H. Greenfield, Jericho
I couldn't disagree more with people who don't vote.
Not voting provides fertile ground for this country to be ruled by a de facto dictatorship of incumbents. If incumbents know they will not be voted out of office because no one will vote, they become emboldened. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The constructive approach is to vote out every incumbent until the politicians get the message that voters want representatives who reflect voters' wishes.
Guy Tedesco, Bethpage
I found these letters to be alarming but completely understandable. Everything that they said was absolutely correct: Our political system is broken. The question is, was it ever perfect? Absolutely not! Is it more nonfunctional than ever? I can't say for certain, but I know that democracy depends on a knowledgeable and politically active constituency. Do we have such a constituency? Absolutely not. The average citizen hardly ever votes. Ask the average citizen who their congressman or town supervisor is; many don't know.
In some democracies, voting is mandatory. I would go one step further and require them to take a test to see whether they know who is running and what the issues are. Have them pay a fine if they don't know.
That sounds radical, but what we presently have is pretend democracy.
Peter F. Monaco, Ridge
I've been a poll coordinator for many years in Nassau County. In response to the letter complaining about lack of illumination at polling places ["Fed up with calls, ads, signs, voting booths," Nov. 9], I would like to remind the writer that she could take advantage of a machine that gives voters the opportunity to zoom in on the ballot, making it larger and easier to read. These are located at all polling places. Voters can request this from the election inspector when signing in to vote.
Judy Seplow, North Massapequa
