Ballot access needed

To the editor: The vast majority of the citizens of Pike County seem satisfied with their local government. They are satisfied that their taxes are well spent, their schools are the best they can be, their local government id efficient. They see no reason to know who is on the ballot before they vote, if they bother to vote at all. That would be the logical conclusion reached from the following facts: • Pike County has about 55,000 residents. The highest voter turnout was in the presidential election in November 2004 when 19,654 voters turn out at the polls. • In 2005, an off-year election like 2007, only 7,945 voted in the general election and only 5,392 voted in the primary. That’s less than 40% of the turnout the year before and less than 28% of the turnout just 6 months after the record. • Due to Pennsylvania’s closed primaries and rules that allow cross registration of candidates, many local elections in Pike County happen in May, not November. If you are not a registered Republican or Democrat, you may not be able to determine who your commissioner is, who is on the bench, or who is on the school board. Although the election is in November, it may be all over six months before. Very few of the voters even know who is running for the more minor offices, or what those offices are. The local papers try to cover the major races, but none of the papers that I contacted will be publishing a sample ballot this year. Sample ballots are not mailed to registered voters. You can stop by the County Offices and pick up a sample ballot, but given the demographics of Pike County, I am not the only one that can not run over to 506 Broad Street between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on a weekday to try to see who is running for the minor offices. There is no internet site that lists all the candidates for this election. I believe that citizens should vote in every election. I believe that all voters should vote for the best candidate based on the candidate’s positions, not on the basis of who has the most yard signs. I believe that in this electronic age, where we vote electronically, we should be able to see a sample ballot on the County’s web page. Pike County Commissioners: Let’s fix this. Let us know the date you will publish sample ballots. If it is not possible to do this before May 15, I ask that the County accomplish this before mid-October 2007. Learn. Educate. Vote. We get the government that we deserve. William E. Greenlaw Milford