It is hard to believe President Obama has been in office four years. According to all the pre-election polls, this yearís bid for president is going to be a close race between Obama and his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney.Many of us have grown tired of politics and leery of our leaders. Itís easy to get discouraged and shrug off Election Day.In 2008, voter turnout was the highest since 1968, when Republican Richard Nixon defeated Democrat Hubert Humphrey (from a CBS June 2009 news report). Still, almost 80 million eligible Americans did not vote that year. The Center for the Study of the American Electorate predicts that 90 million people will not vote in this election.There are many reasons people donít vote ñ ìIím too busyî is the most oft-cited reason. ìMy vote doesnít countî is another reason people donít vote.Regardless of an imperfect system, Iím looking forward to voting this Tuesday. It makes me feel like I have a voice and am contributing to the country. I hope you feel that way, too.Speaking of elections, we made a mistake in last monthís coverage about the ballot question (1A) that proposes a sales tax increase for the El Paso County Sheriffís Department. In our coverage, we said the percentage of the sales tax increase they are asking for is .023. We left out a zero. The actual sales tax rate percentage is .0023.Lt. Jeff Kramer, public information officer for the sheriffís department, addressed the percentage in simpler terms. He said on a $10 purchase, the sales tax increase would be 2.3 cents. On a $100 purchase, the sales tax increase would be 23 cents. The sales tax does not apply to groceries, utilities or prescriptions.Weíre sorry about that mistake. We have expanded our election coverage in this issue to include interviews with two women running for office: Amy Stephens (state representative) and Karyna Lemus, Amy Lathenís opponent in the county commissioner race. We published an interview with Amy Lathen last month.I hope weíve brought you some insight with our October and November issues to help you make a choice in this election.Of course, Thanksgiving is around the corner, and I always like to say thanks this time of the year to our supporters ñ our readers and advertisers ñ and our team. I am so thankful for our writers, sales staff, designers, editor, delivery crew. And I enjoy the relationships Iíve developed with our advertisers.I am also grateful to have a wonderful family and great friends.Not everyone is so lucky, and Iím hoping that this Thanksgiving, many people who were affected by the recession or the tragic fire that engulfed our area this past summer are or will soon be back on their feet.To everyone, have a happy Thanksgiving ñ and weíll see you in December!– Michelle
