Oct 14, 2002 3 min read

Political parties don’t spend large sums of money to rent halls, buy food for barbecue feasts, and pay expenses for out-of-town celebrities to make local appearances just because they want to entertain the public. They don’t pay van drivers and rent vehicles to transport elderly voters to the polls, free of charge, just because they like senior citizens.

They don’t write checks for thousands of dollars to pay for newspaper and television ads just because they want to keep the public informed on the issues.

Political leaders, Republicans and Democrats, know how the system works. They work very hard to recruit and keep each and every voter.

If you believe your vote doesn’t have value, you don’t see what the politicians see. Maybe you don’t vote because you believe your single vote can’t make any difference in how your government is run. By not voting, you forfeit any possible influence you had.

Political leaders, if they were to confess the truth, really don’t care if the voter turnout is low. The power of each voter they drive to the polls is doubled by your non-vote. If you don’t bother to vote, it makes their jobs much easier and the outcome, in their favor, much more certain.

The Newspaper Association of America is participating in a non-partisan project aimed at creating the largest voter turnout for any non-presidential election in the nation’s history. The project is called “Freedom’s Answer.”

The program is focused on high school students. More than a million students are being recruited to help generate a huge voter turnout for the Nov. 5 election.

It doesn’t matter whom wins or loses in the election. The campaign’s goal is to get people out to the polls.

The Herald-Standard’s Newspaper in Education program has adopted this national project for area schools to participate. Newspapers from across the country are participating.

The project’s purpose is to honor service men and women overseas who risk their lives every day for our freedoms.

Students in participating schools (Albert Gallatin High School principal Carl Bezjak has signed up already) are being asked to encourage their parents, grandparents, friends and neighbors to sign a pledge to vote in the November election.

A Web page on the Internet, www.FreedomsAnswer.net, outlines suggestions to help students get out the vote.

Students can sign a pledge to contact at least 10 eligible voters in the Take Ten program. Or, they can use the Adopt-A-Block idea to contact every voter on their block.

The students are prohibited from asking anyone to vote for a particular candidate or political party. It’s strictly a non-political campaign.

Student councils, clubs, athletic teams, homerooms, study groups, any school organization, can sign up to participate. Schools are encouraged to compete with other schools.

School districts can compete to see which one can get the most voter pledges signed. School superintendents and school boards could offer trophies for winners.

The goal of this project is not for any particular party or individual candidate to win or lose election Nov. 5. A record voter turnout, particularly on a local level, could generate national attention.

The credit for such an achievement would go directly to the young people, students, teachers, administrators and the schools themselves.

If a student, parent, schoolteacher, civic club or other group wants more information give Jo Lieb or Bill Dreucci a call (724-439-7544) at the Herald-Standard. They have information on the Freedom’s Answer project available for distribution which explains in more detail how you can become involved.

Mike Ellis is the editor of the Herald-Standard. His e-mail address is mellis@heraldstandard.com.