According to Deschutes County, voter turnout for the May election was 39.6%, (or 63,826 of 161,143) registered voters. In the city of Redmond there are 26,031 registered voters, with 29.5% (or 7,683) voting in the primary.

There are many concerned voters who work diligently on reminding you to vote. I am one of them. I need some input as to why you don’t vote. What can I do to show you that yes your vote will count if you vote? Two years ago, the city of Redmond showed up with two-thirds voting conservative. Redmond needs your vote this November.

The national election is of the utmost importance, along with our state and local election.

In Redmond, we have mayor and council members to vote for. Plus, the council has put forth marijuana shops with a 3% tax and psilocybin service center on the ballot in Redmond. I don’t think these two measures support our council goals of a safe environment in which to raise and educate families. They will, also, create more bureaucracy in our city government. The right choice to move our city forward to support a safe environment for our children is Cat Zwicker for Mayor, Jay Patrick, Alan Lawyer and Shannon Wedding for Redmond city council. The council positions are at-large, which means those with the highest number of votes will be elected. Yes, your vote will count in this election.

Statewide, the Democrats have put HB 2004 (rank choice voting) on the ballot, which may cause fewer people to vote. It can have no clear winner, makes results take longer and voting harder. The concept is very hard to understand. New isn’t always better. Don’t complicate a voting system that is already working. To prevent this, please vote no.

As the election is less than four months away, you can choose to be informed and vote, and influence the direction of our city, state and country — socialism or freedom. I look forward to a 100% voter turnout in November.

Judy Dow

Redmond

Editor’s Note

Editor’s Note

Editor’s Note

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