NY Revolution, SCOPE leaders want more people to vote

Editor:

The highly anticipated and much debated general election is now behind us.

Orleans County SCOPE and New York Revolution would like to take this opportunity to thank the voters for attending the Sheriff Candidate Forum that was held prior to the election. It was very encouraging to see so many concerned citizens at the forum.

We greatly appreciate all the positive feedback we have received since the forum. We hope that events such as this will become commonplace in Orleans County as they are beneficial to candidates and voters alike.

We would also like to take this time to publicly congratulate Randy Bower for being elected Orleans County Sheriff. We look forward to establishing a working relationship between our groups and the Sheriff’s Department in an effort to better our county and be an example for others to follow.

We have taken a breath and recouped from the excitement of the election, but now we must look forward. There is much work to do. Next year, there will be numerous positions on the ballot, most notably the President of the United States and New York State legislators.

As reported in the Orleans Hub, voter turnout in Orleans County was 38.2 percent among registered voters. While some may celebrate that as a high turnout in an off-election year, we are quite frankly saddened by this. To make matters even worse, roughly 34 percent of the population over the age of 18 in Orleans County is not even registered to vote!

We truly believe that it is our duty as Americans to vote. Therefore, we look forward to the new year and hope that Orleans County will join us in an effort to get all qualified residents registered to vote!

Many complain about politics, but the numbers prove that few are willing to go to the polls and do something about it. We need to educate and activate our family, friends and neighbors. We can bring about change, but only if we vote and make our voices heard!

“We in America do not have government by the majority-we have government by the majority who participateAll tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.” ~Thomas Jefferson

We would like to take this opportunity to invite everyone to attend the Orleans County SCOPE meetings. They are held on the 2nd Monday of every month at 7 p.m. at the VFW on Platt Street in Albion.

Sincerely,

Mattie Zarpentine, Regional Director of New York Revolution
David Thom, Chapter Chairman of Orleans County SCOPE