Tuesday is a chance to express your opinion

Maybe you like the status quo, or maybe you are one of the whiners who doesn’t vote.

Whiners who don’t vote complain about what their cities are doing, they don’t like how things are run, they don’t want any new taxes, nothing the school board does is ever right. But they never do anything about it but complain. They don’t vote. And as such, no elected official is going to take their views seriously.

Voting is a matter of public record. Elected officials know how to find out if you’re someone they need to take seriously and Tuesday is your chance to start telling them they do. Become a regular voter.

There are a wide variety of issues on the ballot Tuesday, and something for every voter to decide.

There’s a three-way race for a seat on the St. Francois County Ambulance Board.

There’s a county-wide sales tax issue on the ballot for road maintenance. It’s a renewal of an existing quarter-cent sales tax that county officials say is vital to keeping the roads in good shape.

North County voters are being asked to decide whether the district should build a new elementary school.

All five of the county’s school districts have board races. Voters in four cities have mayoral races and there are aldermanic races in six.

The men and women you elect to these positions will have a far more direct effect on your life than state and federal officials. They will decide everything from the mundane — cost of school lunches, the school’s dress code, how much your trash pickup service costs, what roads get paved — to the more complex — economic development, tax rates, planning and zoning and more.

We’ve put together a comprehensive voting guide on all the races and issues to help you figure out how you want to vote. It was in the March 29th edition, or you can find it online at www.dailyjournalonline.com.

Regardless of whether you’re for the status quo, or wanting to express your outrage, you can make your voice count for more with elected officials simply by becoming a regular voter.

The polls will open at 6 a.m. and remain so until 7 p.m. on Tuesday. If you are in line by 7 p.m., you will be allowed to vote regardless of the poll closing time.

A list of polling places accompanies this story. Most polling locations are the same as last time. However, the Frankclay precinct has moved from the Water District Building on Route M to the Frankclay Church of the Nazarene also on Route M.

If you’re not sure what or where your polling place is, contact the County Clerk’s office at 573-756-5411.

“I would like to see people get out and vote and have their voices heard,” St. Francois County Clerk Mark Hedrick said. “Individuals have a right to vote and I feel that they should exercise that right.”

If you are not registered to vote this time around, you can do that at the County Clerk’s office in the St. Francois County Courthouse Annex at 1 West Liberty and you will be ready to vote next time around.

Renee Jean is assistant managing editor of the Daily Journal and can be reached at 573-431-2010, ext. 117 or at rjean@dailyjournalonline.com