Letter to the editor: My Vote Is Not Yours to Take

Letter to the editor. The views below are the writer's own and do not represent Garrett County News.

A Letter from an Independent Voter

By Monique Mehring

Dear Editor,

On this Election Day, Americans once again have the opportunity to exercise one of our most fundamental rights: the right to vote.

But as an independent voter living in Maryland, I find myself increasingly frustrated by a political system that gives me a voice in November while largely shutting me out of the process that determines who appears on my ballot.

I am independent for a reason.

There are Republican policies I support, Democratic policies I support, and policies from both parties I strongly oppose. My values do not fit neatly into either party's platform. And I suspect millions of Americans feel exactly the same way.

Yet Maryland's closed partisan primary system leaves independent voters on the sidelines when the major parties select their candidates. By the time we reach the general election, the choices have largely been made for us.

And frankly, I'm tired of it.

I'm tired of the extremes. I'm tired of outrage replacing problem-solving. And I'm tired of being told that every political issue requires me to choose a side.

I am tired of being asked to participate in a democracy where the parties control the choices and call it representation.

Look at our ballots. We have incumbents running unopposed. We have races where neither candidate represents the values of voters in the middle. And we have ballot questions that seem to become another front in an endless partisan tug-of-war.

When political decisions are driven by the desire to defeat or retaliate against the opposing party, voters are treated like ammunition, not citizens.

Two wrongs do not make a right, and political retaliation is not a governing philosophy.

I don't want Republicans acting simply to beat Democrats, or Democrats acting simply to beat Republicans. I want decisions made because they are right for the people, not because they advance the interests of a political party.

Both parties need to understand something: independent voters are not simply undecided Republicans or Democrats waiting to be persuaded. We are Americans with our own convictions, priorities, and expectations.

If you want our votes, earn them.

Offer candidates with integrity, common sense, and the courage to represent more than the loudest voices in their own party. Stop treating compromise as surrender and political opponents as enemies.

And perhaps most importantly, recognize that winning an election should be about earning the confidence of the people, not simply defeating the other side.

I believe in democracy, and I honor my right to vote. I will show up on Election Day because I believe that right comes with a responsibility.

But this year, I may leave nearly half my ballot blank.

Not because I don't care. Not because I'm uninformed. And certainly not because I've given up on our country.

I will leave those races blank because neither candidate has earned my vote.

My vote is not an entitlement bestowed upon Republicans or Democrats. It is something candidates must earn through their character, their policies, and their commitment to representing the people they serve.

I am not politically undecided. I am politically independent. There is a difference.

And perhaps it's time both political parties started respecting that difference.

My vote belongs to me. And I intend to keep it that way.

Monique Mehring

Garrett County News welcomes letters to the editor. Letters reflect the views of their writers, not GCN.