I’ll never forget the 1992 U.S.  Presidential election. A senior at Saratoga Springs Senior High School, I got really caught up in the battle between the Republican incumbent, George H. W. Bush, a Democratic upstart, Bill Clinton, and an independent billionaire, Ross Perot.

Watching the debates on television and reading countless stories in all the newspapers, I knew that it was an important time for the country. Unfortunately, I could only root from the sidelines as I was just 17.

It bummed me out. I was especially passionate about one of the candidates. If you were kind enough to listen, I could talk your ear off for hours about how my guy was going to change the world.

That next year, I finally turned the magical age. While most of my friends were in a mad rush to the local convenient store to buy cigarettes and adult magazines, I was registering to vote.

As evident by the numerous letters appearing in our newspaper, election season is in full swing.

While this isn’t a major year on a national level, the local races are filled with intrigue and many are sure to go right down to the wire. This is why your vote is so important.

Cynics will say that your single vote doesn’t really matter because it won’t sway the elections one way or the other. Others will contend that in the United States, we have just as much a right to not vote, especially if we don’t like the candidates that have been thrust upon us.

There’s certainly substance to each argument and it would be foolish to outright condemn either.

While it is repeated again and again that many people died for our right to walk into the voting booth, the frequency of this battle cry should never be devalued.   

Another important U.S. Presidential election will be occurring in 2008. With the amount of attention this race is already getting, voter turnout should increase.

With that being said, 55.3 percent of the voting age population participated in the 2004 Bush-Kerry vote. It was the best voter turnout for a presidential year since 1968. This is a good thing, but having a little more than half the people vote is nothing for the U.S. to hang its hat on.

For those 18 that are not registered, it might be too late for this year, but make sure you get it done in time for next fall. For those over 18 and not voting, it’s time to be a better example.