Voters must exercise their ballot rights in Tuesday’s election

EDITORIAL

By Ruth Luse
   Voters who care about their state and, in Hopewell Township’s case, their town, would do well to get to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
   If choosing a new governor, who will serve for four years beginning in January, isn’t enough to entice Hopewell Township voters to go to their polling places, the opportunity to decide the fate of Hopewell Township’s government certainly should be.
   On Tuesday, when township voters also will pick two people to serve three-year terms on the Township Committee, they also will decide if that very same Township Committee will continue to exist past Dec. 31, 2006. Those elected Tuesday — as well as the other three current members of the Township Committee who will sit after Jan. 1, 2006 — could find themselves without a job on Dec 31, 2006, if township voters say yes to the mayor-council-administrator form of government on Tuesday.
   Should that be the case, both Democrats and Republicans would have to try to come up with seven candidates to seek office in the November 2006 election. At that time, a mayor and six members of a new township council would be chosen to take seats on a new governing body in January 2007.
   That’s something to think seriously about, since Hopewell Township has had the same form of government since the late 1700s. In an era when it’s often difficult to get good people to run for anything, this would be a challenge for Hopewell Township, which never has had to come up with that many candidates at one time.
   We urge township voters to review the information mailed to them recently by the Charter Study Commission. Many of the answers to questions voters may have about the commission’s recommendation should be on those pages. Those planning to vote also can find a schedule of cable TV broadcasts that feature the Oct. 27 Charter Study Commission meeting.
   Despite the fact that there are no races for council seats in Hopewell or Pennington boroughs this year, we urge voters there, and in Hopewell Township — who did not attend the Oct. 27 League of Women Voters’ Candidates’ Night — to check out the Comcast channel 19 broadcast schedule given elsewhere in this edition. Voters can learn something about their candidates by watching them in action at the session.
   As we said at the outset, this is an important election year. We urge voters to study their sample ballots carefully and go to the polls, whether they feel like it or not. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.
   We think there’s quite a bit of truth in the adage that if you don’t vote, you really have little right to complain when things don’t go your way.