This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
As we approach voting time, I hope more Utah citizens are planning on participating in the election process than in previous off-year elections. I am tired of listening to the complaints about our government and specifically about our elected representatives when so few qualified citizens take the time to participate in the election process, and when so many of that few just blindly mark their ballots according to a party label.
In a state such as Utah, where one party so dominates, those who are in the minority tend to feel that their votes are not worth anything, so they don't vote. But most of the citizens in our state — both members of the LDS faith and others —are not hard line right or left wingers. Most of the people in this state are down-to-earth people who care about others. In an off-year election, it is even more important that those who haven't sold their souls to a specific party get out and vote, or the things we don't like about the system just continue to get worse.
To all qualified citizens, please, I beg you, if you haven't been voting, or if you weren't planning on voting in this election, change your mind. If you are not registered to vote, register. If you don't have time or inclination to actually help candidates, at least take the time to find out how those candidates who are important to you feel about the issues you feel strongly about. Then vote according to what you have learned. Please do not vote straight party, and please do not vote for those candidates you know nothing about.
Fred Ash
Sandy