Election Update
October 28, 2008
Good afternoon everybody! I want to thank all of the distinguished individuals who have come here today to emphasize one of the most important values that we have as a free people, and that is to be able to make our own decisions about the direction that our country will take in the years ahead.
To Senator Cardin, Attorney General Gansler, Senator Mikulski, and everyone who is here with us, thank you for coming today to emphasize two very important dates. One is November 4th, which is Election Day, but also the last day to register to vote in Maryland, which is October 14th. We need everyone to register to vote.
As Senator Cardin said, there are about a million Marylanders who are not yet registered to vote but are eligible. It is easy to register to vote – you can go online at www.electionsmaryland.com, you can go to your local County Board of Elections, or you can go to your local library. And there are other avenues where you can register as well.
The deadline to register again is October 14th. That is only one week from today. So please, as the chief family officers, take charge of your own family. Make sure that everyone in your family is registered to vote. When you go to work, put up a notice on that bulletin board there at work that emphasizes and underscores that October 14th is the last day to register to vote. We really need everyone.
We have an incredibly important choice coming up on November 4th. There has never been a time in my personal memory when our country has been at such a crossroads, where there is so much at stake, where the economic imperative or the security imperative is so very, very urgent and important.
So please make sure you register by October 14th so that you can vote on November 4th. We are doing everything in our power through the State Board of Elections to make sure that we are able to accommodate what we hope and trust will be a record turnout this year in Maryland, and indeed, across the country.
There is so much at stake when it comes to our country’s security, our economy, and the healthcare needs of our people. We need a federal government that is working as hard as the hard-working families of Maryland. Not only to make ends meet, but to make a better tomorrow for their children.
So in 27 days, we’re going to make a big decision. But unless you’re registered you cannot be a part of that decision. One person is capable of making a tremendous difference. Some elections are decided just by one or two or three or four votes, and this could be one of those elections.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the “City of Brotherly Love” in Philadelphia. And on that chair where John Hancock sat when the Declaration was signed… On that chair where George Washington sat when the Constitution was signed, is a sun that has 13 rays of light coming out from it.
Whether that sun is setting on the republic or rising on a better day for the republic depends on every individual to make a considered decision.
Vote your conscience, vote for the best, vote in the best interest of our country’s future. Make sure that sun is still rising on the republic by making sure that you are registered to vote on October 14th then of course going to the polls on November 4th.
Thank you very much.
