To the editor:

I recently read a Time Magazine article about Mongolia. “Voter participation … has at times broken 80 percent. Herders think nothing of traveling by horseback for days to reach a polling station.” We barely broke 50 percent voter turnout in the last primary and all we have to do is put a stamp on an envelope. Why is this?

Other states are actively trying to suppress voter participation. We live in a state where we are encouraged to vote. And still voter participation is low. Why?

Democracy is more than politics. It requires everyone to participate. The last Island County commissioner election was won by 284 votes. Almost 1,200 Island County voters who identify with the Democratic party did not vote in the last election. That means that every vote has the possibility of being a tie breaker. Every vote is important. Your vote is important!

You don’t need a horse. You don’t need to travel for days to cast your vote. You just need to lick a stamp and walk to the mail box. Please do it.

Betty McCadden

Camano Island