When was it exactly in our nation's storied history that it became unfashionable, inconvenient or simply unimportant to vote?
It could not have been in 1860, when this country underwent the brutal upheaval of civil war to preserve the union and eliminate race or "previous condition of servitude" as barriers to the ballot box.Nor could it have been in 1920, when American women raised their voices to claim the voting rights that had been denied them for more than a century.
Times were changing in the late 1960s and early '70s, but they were not met with indifference. The voting age was lowered to 18 to include those who previously had been old enough to die for this country but too young to choose its leaders.
Voting is the hallmark of democracy and of freedom.
Our forbears died on battlefields far from home and on streets in their own cities for this basic freedom. In nations less free, less powerful and less prosperous, people still die asserting the ideals of democracy.
In America, we do not face intimidation or resistance at our polling places. It is as easy as a run to the convenience store for a Big Gulp, as time-consuming as a stop at the ATM. And it is as profound an act of self-determination an American can perform.
Voter turnout in Utah has been high for some elections, negligible for others, particularly primaries. It does not have to be. Nor should it.
In this state, the electoral process begins small and snowballs. First precinct caucuses, then conventions, then primaries and finally the November general election. Handfuls of people determine the first outcome, a few hundred more decide the conventions. All citizens of voting age are eligible to participate at any level, but few do. So it is that those few decide for the many.
Primary elections often hinge on a smattering of votes, sometimes on a single vote. Can one vote really make a difference? Could one three-pointer have changed the outcome for the Jazz in the NBA Finals?
This Tuesday, we face the next-to-last step of deciding who will determine our property taxes, plan our future growth, protect our streets and carry our voice to Washington. This Tuesday, our children may learn a powerful lesson and see firsthand that what they were told in civics and history classes is true - that "we the people" hold the power in a democratic republic. This Tuesday, we have another opportunity to vote. We fought for those rights once. Now all we have to do is exercise them.