qrs①③④⑤ ③⑥rs⑦ ⑧⑨⑤ ⑧⑩❶❷
❸❹❺ ❻❼❽❺❾❿❺❾
On the Fence
Does every vote matter? Will my voice actually make a difference?
Yes: Every election is a valuable
Yes: U.S. Constitution ensures
opportunity to improve our country everyone is represented
If you don’t vote, you can be sure
your voice will not be heard. Does
your vote actually matter? Abso-
lutely — in more ways than you may
imagine and in more elections than
you may be considering. At least 10
state elections have been tied or won
by one vote in the past 30 years, and
it’s possible to believe that your bal-
lot could tip an entire election.
If your candidate doesn’t win, it
doesn’t mean your voice hasn’t been
heard. Winning candidates know ex-
actly how many voters did not sup-
port them. The closer the gap in elec-
tion returns, the more powerful your
vote is. For example, recent political
analysis shows that our congress-
man, Greg Walden (R-Ore.), has
moderated his voting pattern since
his liberal opponent won 40% of the
vote in our district.
Your voice will be heard locally, es-
pecially if you’re active in candidates’
campaigns. You’ve seen people wear-
ing “I Voted” stickers. We also need “I
Will Vote” stickers, an excellent way
for your voice to be heard. If some-
one asks, explain why the person you
support is the best candidate, why
those policies are important. You can
amplify your voice by informing and
convincing other voters. If we want
to be heard, we need to be informed.
As one analyst put it, “Ignorance po-
tentially opens the door for both elite
manipulation and gross policy errors
caused by politicians’ need to ap-
peal to an ignorant electorate in or-
der to win office.” We’ve heard how
many voters may have been misled
by Russian influence in social media.
A successful democracy depends on
knowledgeable voters.
In the last mid-term election, only
47% of eligible voters cast their bal-
lots. The other 125 million eligible
voters were silent. Apparently they
didn’t care how their tax money is
spent, whether the environment is
sustainable, whether we have afford-
able health care, whether we go to
war or not. Tragically, it seems many
Americans invest more time choos-
ing which sports team to support or
phone to purchase. (Did you know
that anyone can see whether you
➆➣↔↕ ➙➁➛➛➂
➈➉➊➋➉ ➌➋➈➉➍➎
➑➏➋➜➏➐→→➊➝➐→➞➟➐➠➋➌➏➔➍→
voted in the last election? The Voter
Activation Network app lists all reg-
istered voters and whether they vot-
ed. Non-voters could be shamed on
social media for failing to participate
in the future of our nation.)
Voting on every level counts. Many
successful conservative candidates
have been groomed for public office
starting early with their careers as
county commissioners, district court
judges, even school board members.
Over decades, the Republican Party
has programmatically encouraged
and supported the party’s best young
conservatives, like the two recently
appointed Supreme Court Justices,
preparing them to qualify for the
most powerful positions in the land.
From my perspective, Democrats
have failed to appreciate the impor-
tance of that long-term planning.
Your vote is exactly equal to every
other citizen’s. Democracy offers a
level playing field, although some
argue that the Supreme Court’s Citi-
zens United decision has moved the
goal posts. Nevertheless, notable
candidates like Alexandra Ocasio-
Cortez, supported by vocal activists,
have defeated generously financed
opponents. As Thomas Jefferson
said, “Should things go wrong at
any time, the people will set them to
rights by the peaceable exercise of
their elective rights.”
If our state’s voter turnout is low,
our collective voice is unlikely to be
heard in Washington. The party in
power won’t worry about our state’s
positions on vital issues if they as-
sume our state won’t be decisive in the
next election. In Oregon our ballots
are delivered and a stamped envelope
is provided. Instead of watching TV or
✁✂✄☎✆ ✝✞✟ ✠☎✝✟✂☎✟✝✡ ☛✟ ☎✟✟☞ ✝✌ ✂✟✍☞
about the candidates, think about
their policies, mark our ballots. Every
election — local, state or national —
is a valuable opportunity to make our
voices heard, to improve our country
and to save the planet.
Everyone wants their voice to be
heard. Happily, when our great nation
was founded, great care was taken to
ensure that everyone and every place
was represented. We have represen-
tative style of government. Each vote
was designed to be important on an in-
dividual, city, county, state and coun-
try basis. Recognizing that the needs
of citizens vary widely by location,
the founders wisely chose a system of
proportional voting and citizen repre-
sentatives that would represent each
locality. They rejected the concept of
a “pure” democracy where a simple
majority determines the outcome for
everyone. They knew from experience
and history that “pure democracy”
quickly morphs into tyranny that can
allow the majority to enslave the mi-
nority. It was recognized explicitly that
everyone has rights originating from
God — and not coming from the state,
or the majority — and that these rights
must be protected. It took a civil war to
fully implement the concept.
✎✠✏✁ ✠☎✆
✆✌✑✟✂☎✒✟☎✝✍✓
✔✌☛✟✂
weakens the ability of politicians to
scaremonger via emotional appeals.
It promotes stability and fairness. It
allows decisions to be appealed to a
higher authority. In our great govern-
mental system, protecting the minor-
ity and preventing government abuse
of power is implemented by dispers-
ing that power in a number of well-
considered ways:
1. At both the state and local levels,
power is decentralized into the sepa-
rate branches of government: Execu-
tive, Judicial, Legislative. Thus, ab-
solute power cannot be centralized.
Tyranny is avoided.
2. Most governmental decisions are
not decided directly by the people but
rather by their elected representatives
at the city, county, state and national
levels, who are charged with serving
the people in the localities they repre-
sent and also charged with protecting
their “unalienable rights.” Proportion-
al voting promotes stability by limit-
ing the vagaries of the electorate.
3. To promote fairness in Congress,
proportional voting is implemented
in two ways. Two — and only two —
senators are elected from each state
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
➀➁➂ ➃➁➄➅➆➇➂
➈➉➊➋➉ ➌➋➈➉➍➎
➏➐➑➈➒➓➊➌➔➉→
for the Senate. In the House of Repre-
sentatives, each state has a number of
Rrepresentatives that match its rela-
tive population. This keeps the large
states from dominating over the small
states — and vice versa. It helps avoid
an “us against them” regional attitude
and promotes compromise.
4. To ensure everyone and every
state is represented fairly in national
elections, proportional voting is imple-
mented in the Electoral College. Each
state has electors who vote for presi-
dent in a “winner takes all” fashion,
and the number of electors is deter-
mined by state population. Thus politi-
cians are obliged to campaign in varied
and disparate states and address the
needs of all the people rather than just
focusing on big media markets.
5. Changes to the Constitution are
made as amendments, which must
be approved by two-thirds of Con-
gress and then by three-fourths of the
states. This allows change but sets a
high bar, further promoting stability.
So far, only 27 amendments have been
added to the original Constitution.
In our country today, as it has been
from the beginning, there are power-
hungry politicians who desire the
power of a more totalitarian system
that can be changed on a whim and
are perfectly willing to deceive the
electorate if they can to get the power
they seek. They wish to overthrow in-
convenient constitutional protections
that pose a barrier to them. Without
constitutional protections is place,
voting is a sham and is never an agent
of change. It can even be personally
dangerous. However, under our con-
stitutional republic every person and
place is represented at each level and
with rights that are protected by mul-
tiple layers of governance and repre-
sentation.
Make sure your voice and your vote
continue to matter in multiple ways
and at multiple levels by supporting
constitutional principles that ensure
freedom for all. Let freedom ring!
STAFF
SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE
Phone:
Regional publisher.........................Karrine Brogoitti
Home delivery advisor.................Amanda Fredrick
NEWSSTAND PRICE: $1.50
❨♦✕ ✖✗✘ ✙✗✈❡ ✕✚ ✛♦ ✜✢✣ ♦❢❢ ✛✤❡ ✙✥✘✦✧❡★✖♦✚②
✚♣✥✖❡ ✩✥✛✤ ✤♦✪❡ ✫❡✧✥✈❡♣②✳
❈✗✧✧ ✺✬✶✲✭✮✯✲✯✶✮✶ ✛♦ ✙✕t✙✖♣✥t❡✳
✹✻✼✽✾✿❀✽❀✼✿✼
Regional circulation director ....................Kelli Craft
Customer service rep ......................... Mollie Lynch
Toll free (Oregon):
✴★✵✷✷★✢❁❁★✜✴✴✷
Fax: ✱✢✴★❂❃✜★❄✵✷✢
Email:
✘❡✩✙✇✧✗✦♣✗✘✫❡♦t✙❡♣✈❡♣✳✖♦✪
Website:
✩✩✩✳✧✗✦♣✗✘✫❡♦t✙❡♣✈❡♣✳✖♦✪
Street address:
✴✢✷❃ ❅✥❢✛✤ ❙✛✳✸ ❆✗ ❉♣✗✘✫❡
News clerk....................................Lisa Lester Kelly
Advertising representative......................Karen Fye
Sports editor .......................................Ronald Bond
Advertising representative...............Juli Bloodgood
Reporter................................................Dick Mason
Advertising representative...................... Amy Horn
Reporter......................................Francisca Benitez
Graphic design supervisor................Dorothy Kautz
Reporter.....................................Amanda Weisbrod
Graphic design ..............................Cheryl Christian
❙✛♦✚✚❡✫ ✗✖✖♦✕✘✛ t✗✧✗✘✖❡✙ ✧❡✙✙ ✛✤✗✘ ✰✱ ✩✥✧✧
t❡ ♣❡❢✕✘✫❡✫ ✕✚♦✘ ♣❡❜✕❡✙✛✳
Subscription rates per month:
❇② ✖✗♣♣✥❡♣✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✰✴✴✳✵✷
❇② ✪✗✥✧✸ ✗✧✧ ♦✛✤❡♣ ❯✳❙✳ ✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳ ✰✴✱
A division of
❲❊❋●❊❍■ ❏❑▼▼◆■❖P◗●❖❑■❋ ❘■P❱
An independent newspaper founded in 1896
❵❛❞❣❞ ✐❥❥❦✐❧♠♥
❚✤❡ ❤t✙❡♣✈❡♣ ♣❡✙❡♣✈❡✙ ✛✤❡ ♣✥✦✤✛ ✛♦ ✗✫❳✕✙✛ ✙✕t✙✖♣✥✚✛✥♦✘
♣✗✛❡✙ t② ✦✥✈✥✘✦ ✚♣❡✚✗✥✫ ✗✘✫ ✪✗✥✧ ✙✕t✙✖♣✥t❡♣✙ ✜✷ ✫✗②✙
✘♦✛✥✖❡✳ ❩❡♣✥♦✫✥✖✗✧✙ ✚♦✙✛✗✦❡ ✚✗✥✫ ✗✛ ❆✗ ❉♣✗✘✫❡✸ ❤♣❡✦♦✘
❂❄✵✱✷✳ ❩✕t✧✥✙✤❡✫ ✉♦✘✫✗②✙✸ ❬❡✫✘❡✙✫✗②✙ ✗✘✫ ❅♣✥✫✗②✙
❭❡❪✖❡✚✛ ❝❡✖✳ ❁✱❫ t② ❬❡✙✛❡♣✘ ❈♦✪✪✕✘✥✖✗✛✥♦✘✙ ❴✘✖✳✸
✴✢✷❃ ❅✥❢✛✤ ❙✛✳✸ ❆✗ ❉♣✗✘✫❡✸ ❤▲ ❂❄✵✱✷ ❭❯❙❩❙ ❁❂❂★❁❃✷❫
COPYRIGHT © 2019
THE OBSERVER
❚✤❡ ❤t✙❡♣✈❡♣ ♣❡✛✗✥✘✙ ♦✩✘❡♣✙✤✥✚ ✗✘✫ ✖♦✚②♣✥✦✤✛
✚♣♦✛❡✖✛✥♦✘ ♦❢ ✗✧✧ ✙✛✗❢❢★✚♣❡✚✗♣❡✫ ✘❡✩✙ ✖♦✚②✸ ✗✫✈❡♣✛✥✙✥✘✦
✖♦✚②✸ ✚✤♦✛♦✙ ✗✘✫ ✘❡✩✙ ♦♣ ✗✫ ✥✧✧✕✙✛♣✗✛✥♦✘✙✳ ❚✤❡② ✪✗②
✘♦✛ t❡ ♣❡✚♣♦✫✕✖❡✫ ✩✥✛✤♦✕✛ ❡❪✚✧✥✖✥✛ ✚♣✥♦♣ ✗✚✚♣♦✈✗✧✳
Classifieds ........................................ Devi Mathson
Customer service rep ................Sharon Magnuson
POSTMASTER
Send address changes to:
❚✤❡ ❤t✙❡♣✈❡♣✸ ✴✢✷❃ ❅✥❢✛✤ ❙✛✳✸
❆✗ ❉♣✗✘✫❡✸ ❤▲ ❂❄✵✱✷
Periodicals postage paid at:
❆✗ ❉♣✗✘✫❡✸ ❤♣❡✦♦✘ ❂❄✵✱✷