No, I didn't get to the candidates, but ...

Okay. So, I spent a little too much time on dissecting the ballot propositions. It's Election Day, and try as I might, I could not create the time to share my thoughts on some of those individuals who are stupid enough ... I mean, egocentric, no, uh ... wait, I need to check my Thesaurus. 

Got it.

" ... share my thoughts on some of those individuals who are" resolute enough to run for political office.

However, given the extreme differences between the President and his challenger, Brian Bilbray and Scott Peters, Bob Filner and Carl DeMaio ... heck, even between Sherri Lightner and Ray Ellis, you have already decided for whom to vote or decided not to vote. 

The last part about choosing not to vote got me to thinking (as everyone reading this takes a deep breath, concerned about where I'm going with this).

Did you know:

According to official estimates, the state’s total population is approximately 38 million. Of those, 23.8 million (62.63%) are citizens of voting age. This year, voter registration increased to its highest level in history, with 18.2 million (76.47% of total population) registered to vote for this year’s election, up from the previous high of 17.33 million that was set in February 2009.

Of those 18.2 million voters, 12.75 million (70.05% of registered voters and 53.57% of all California residents eligible to vote) are expected to cast ballots today. Those 12.75 million voters, which is only 33.55% of all California residents, will decide the fate of 10 statewide ballot propositions, 53 California Congressional seats, 80 State Assembly seats, 20 State Senate states, one US Senate seat, and thousands of local elections.

Therefore, only about 1/3rd of the population of the state will decide whether we continue to kill certain criminals, raise taxes for schools, prohibit union members from exercising their right to support the candidates of their choice, and requiring the labeling of genetically altered food. There are other issues, as well as decisions as to who represents us in congress, the state legislature, and hundreds, if not thousands of local government officials and issues.

At this moment, there are people laying down their lives for the right to govern themselves – a right and responsibility in which citizens across the nation choose not to participate. Here in California, with all the problems facing our state, we need to exercise our precious right to vote.

We, as voters, have the right to demand that our elected officials answer for their actions. One of the most important aspects of our democracy is the participation of the people in choosing their political representatives. The power of voting is the power of change. Voting is the power of making a mark in history by voicing your opinions.