By: centraljersey.com
"Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting." – President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Representative democracy, to be legitimate, requires an active citizenry.
And that means going to the polls and casting our ballots for the people we want representing us.
New Jersey voters get that opportunity Tuesday, with congressional seats up across the state, as well as many county and local offices.
Voters will also be asked to weigh in on a proposed constitutional amendment requiring the state to use money collected for state employee benefit plans for those plans, instead of withholding some for general revenue uses as has been done in recent years.
The League of Women Voters notes voters may want to support the proposal since "passage will require that worker benefit funds be used for the purpose for which they are collected," and "Some of these worker benefit funds are currently in poor financial shape, in part because of the diversion of money collected for them. Passage would help avoid this problem in the future."
However, the league also notes voters may want to vote against the measure because "passage will limit the ability of the Legislature to make decisions based on the state’s financial needs at any given time," and "this ballot measure does not address whether the amounts currently collected for these programs are sufficient to support the programs into the future, or whether the programs themselves should be reformed."
Either way, it’s clearly a crucial matter for voters to decide. Polls open Tuesday at 6 a.m. and close at 8 p.m., which should offer voters plenty of time to cast their ballots. If not, the state is offering voters the option of casting their ballots by mail.
To vote by mail, voters must complete an application. While the deadline for applying by mail for a Vote by Mail ballot has passed, voters can apply in person at the county clerk’s office until 3 p.m. on Monday. Vote by Mail ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
Voters, of course, can still walk into their local polling place, step into the booth, pull the curtain shut and cast their ballot.
In the end, the method used is not important. What matters is that the ballot gets cast, that we take advantage of the opportunity to make our voice heard at the ballot box – especially in times like these when a majority of New Jersey voters tell pollsters that they are disenchanted with the direction in which the state is moving but split over which candidate they want to take the helm of our listing ship of state.
"To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers," novelist Louis L’Amour said. "One who does not vote has no right to complain."
To obtain a Vote by Mail ballot application, visit the Mercer County Clerk’s Office at Court House, 209 S. Broad St., PO Box 8068, Trenton 08650-0068;

