Get out and vote (Letter to the Editor)

We have an election coming up on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Polls open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. There’s also a drop box at the municipal building open now 24/7. Or, you can vote by mail. In-person early voting takes place Oct. 29 to Nov. 6. So many ways to vote! And since we, in our very liberal suburb, know how important elections are, we all vote, right?  

Well, not so much. Last year, our relatively progressive governor (certainly in comparison to most of the other 49) ran against a closet Trumpie and came within three points of losing. Had he lost, the Reproductive Freedom Act would have been vetoed, many young men and women would have remained in jail for pot possession with criminal records intact, and the money for the Essex-Hudson Greenway would not have been found. This near-loss occurred because Democrats, statewide in deep-blue New Jersey, could not be bothered to vote. In Montclair, 43% of registered Democrats made it to the polls. 

Elections have consequences. And this year, those consequences will be lethal if we lose. So, you 57-percenters, get out and vote! Unless you want to live with a Congress that will trash everything you care about.   

Jim Price
Montclair