Let's hope local voting beats predictions

While our attention is focused on the problems associated with bringing a democratic system to Iraq, are we in danger of losing our own?

Maybe not, but if more of us don't take part in the process, we may not deserve to keep our own freedom. Just look at the numbers:

Nebraska Secretary of State John Gale predicts that only 28 percent of the state's registered voters will bother to go to the polls on Tuesday.

There are reasons for his pessimism, but you can be the judge of whether they are legitimate reasons:

* The Democratic Party presidential nomination has been locked up.

* There are no statewide issues on the ballot.

* This is an off year for elections on the county level. Only a limited number of county board races will be decided this year.

There are plenty of reasons for local voters to turn out Tuesday, not the least of which are the McCook school bond issue and the Southwest Public Schools board election.

If nothing else, voters should be excited about using Red Willow County's new vote-scanning equipment. Each voter will receive one custom ballot, which will be counted and tallied electronically.

Red Willow County is "blessed" to be a demonstration site for a system that may eventually spread throughout the state. But even here, the numbers don't look all that great. While statewide registration stands at a record 1,087,877 for the primary, Red Willow County registration is down, 7,753 compared to 7,856 for the 2002 election.

That includes 4,578 Republicans, 2,007 Democrats, 1,120 nonpartisan voters, 23 Libertarian and 25 Nebraska party members. Turnout should be better than the 28 percent Gale predicts. Even so, if it were as high as, say 40 percent, and an issue is decided by, say, 51 percent of the vote, that means that only slightly more than 20 percent favor the outcome of the election.

Potentially, 80 percent of eligible voters will be unhappy with the results. Unlikely, but possible. One thing for certain is that a minority of the eligible voters are making decisions for the majority who don't bother to turn out. Let's make a special effort to get out the vote. Let's show the state -- and the rest of the world -- that our system of government is important to us.