EDITORIAL: "Vote. Vote. Vote. Vote."

The candidates are right --The candidates are right --today's election is theThe candidates are right --today's election is theonly poll that counts.The candidates are right --today's election is theonly poll that counts.Be counted.The candidates are right --today's election is theonly poll that counts.Be counted.____________________________ So maybe it wasn't entirely your choice to live in these United States. The question today, though, is whether you nonetheless support one of the ideals on which this country was based. Democracy. Where the people vote, and the majority rules. If you agree with the rationale behind democracy, you should support that ideal by voting. Even if you are sure your candidate will win, you should still vote. Even if you are resigned to the fact that your choice will lose, you should still vote. Even if you still have trouble deciding who to vote for, you should go out to the polls and make the best choice you can. Some people don't vote because they are turned off by the candidates and their behavior. But remember, those candidates have devoted endless months -- if not years -- of their lives to this process, despite the possiblity of losing. Even if you disagree with mudslinging and political backstabbing, at least the candidates amply demonstated that they were interested in your vote. You should reward that dedication of candidates you like by going to the polls for them. Your vote serves as both a reward and a weapon, but you must decide to use it. Remember, people who aren't interested in voting do not interest candidates. Those seeking office can then pander only to the select few who vote, forgetting the masses. For weeks, every political candidate has waved off popular opinion polls in which they appeared unpopular, often with the cliche that "The only poll that counts is on November 3." They're absolutely right -- today's election is the only one that counts. Today's election, though, may be the most biased poll of all. Voting is a "self-selecting" procedure -- people must go to the polls, because the polls won't come to them. Here in the city, that requires a small -- but significant -- degree of effort. Elsewhere, it can be much more difficult. Besides, consider who will most likely to show up. Will the poor vote more often, or less often, than the wealthy? Will voters primarily be the old, or the young? The educated or the uneducated? Those committed to a candidate, or those who are not terribly committed? Trouble is, the national election could be far less representative of the nation's opinion than all of those telephone surveys of "randomly selected likely voters." That's why everyone must go to the polls, despite the inconvenience -- to help ensure that the election is an accurate gauge of the nation's opinion, rather than of the opinion of some select special interests. We're optimistic, though. Voter registration is up locally and across the nation. There are other indications that students are taking an increased interest in elections, large and small. Last week, the Undergraduate Assembly achieved a stunning 10 percent increase in voter turnout for the election of freshman representatives. Meanwhile, the Senior Class Board has congratulated the Class of '93 for a record response in senior class gift voting. But now it's time to vote for something truly important. Remember, you'll have no right to complain about the outcome unless you vote. Sure, this little country we call the United States will keep on keepin' on whether or not you vote today. The republic will stand. But there will be one less vote for democracy.