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# To vote or not to vote is not really the question
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/to-vote-or-not-to-vote-is-not-really-the-question/
- Published: 2004-08-16T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:51:58.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homelessness

*By CAROLE ORLIN*

You probably don’t need to be reminded, but Election Day 2004 is 11 weeks from tomorrow. Yes, we are 78 days away from Nov. 2\. From coast to coast, we will be making a decision for the highest office in the country: Bush or Kerry? In Santa Monica, we will be making a decision on the majority of the seats on the City Council (four of seven).

I have always been interested in the political process. (Could this be the result of living in Washington, D.C., for more than 25 years?) It has never failed to amaze me that, in spite of our country’s emphasis on the importance of living in a democratic society, we almost always tend to have a disappointing turnout of actual voters from the rolls of eligible voters. Our highest turnouts are almost invariably in years in which we elect a president. However, those numbers appear to be relatively consistent with the data collected with the last election. In 2000, 51 percent of the overall eligible voting population actually voted, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Elections Commission. You don’t have to be a statistician to realize that barely half of the eligible electorate takes the time and makes the effort to exercise his or her right to vote. It even amazes me that in an area like Santa Monica, where one would think that the level of education and income is on the higher end of the spectrum, that the percentages do not reflect a higher participation by its eligible residents.

At the moment, I don’t think it’s important for anyone to have made up his or her mind as to which candidate to support. I do think it is critically important for everyone to make up his or her mind to cast a vote on the first Tuesday in November. I would suggest that making a decision to vote is unbelievably easy: Be registered to vote by Oct. 18, know your polling place and show up there on Election Day. By the way, if you are not registered to vote, the forms are readily available at City Hall, and other public buildings such as post offices and fire stations; or complete an online request form at www.ss.ca.gov/elections.

Deciding on who should lead the country or lead our city is not quite so easy. One of the most significant problems in coming to a personal decision in the voting booth is the reality that there are always multiple issues that are important to each of us. These issues on the national level can come from a large checklist of possibilities: The economy, security, our role in the Middle East and foreign policy, immigration, pro-choice or pro-life, stem-cell research, Supreme Court nominations and leadership. The list could go on and on.

Then, at the local level, we have the day-to-day “quality of life” issues that impact each of us in Santa Monica: Public safety, education, traffic, development, homelessness, the living wage, dog beaches, animal declawing, hedge heights, and on and on. Perhaps, there are positive signs here in Santa Monica that our community is prepared to show more active involvement in the electoral process. Last Monday, with the formal closing for filing nomination papers to become a candidate in the municipal election, a total of 19 council hopefuls threw their hats in the ring; The four council incumbents whose terms will expire are being joined by 15 challengers. The total number of council candidates four years ago was 13\. The increased involvement also appears evident through the number of political action committees in Santa Monica that are lining up to endorse candidates. Historically, the city’s most powerful political group for the last 25 years, the Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights (SMRR), finds itself joined by the political action committee of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, which will endorse candidates for the first time. These two significant groups — at least in terms of numbers and financing — are being joined by other formal and informal political groups like the Coalition for the Living Wage and the Coalition of Santa Monica City Employees.

What makes our decisions more complicated is finding a candidate or candidates who share our personal views on all of the issues. Invariably, we find that the candidate might agree with us on some of these issues, but rarely (if ever) on all of the issues. It often comes down to priori-tizing which issues are most important to us. It is my hope in future columns between now and Nov. 2 to identify some of the important issues that are confronting us in Santa Monica and try and sort out the candidates’ views to make our jobs in the selection process a bit easier. Furthermore, because of the large number of candidates running for the four council seats in Santa Monica, this election will require us to look very carefully at the impact of “splitting” votes among such a large group. Election day is looking more and more interesting. (Carole can be reached at Caroleorlin@yahoo.com).

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 16, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/081604.pdf?ref=smdp.com)