Election Day is near - Tuesday, November 8, to be exact. There are some spirited races for all of us voters to consider. Participating in the elections by voting and then following the returns is an enjoyable and satisfying thing to do on Election Day.

      Here are some questions we frequently hear at South Boston Online, along with some answers we have come up with:

     I live in a large (city, county, state, country - take your pick). Does my lone vote count for anything?

     ANS: Remember that even national elections can be VERY close. Kennedy vs. Nixon was decided by a few votes in Cook County, Ill. Bush vs. Gore ended up in the Supreme Court because it was so close. And over the years, many local elections - the Mayoral race in Quincy was an example - are decided by less than 20 total votes. You don't know in advance how a race will go, so help it go your way by voting.

     My favorite candidate is almost certain to win, so why should I vote?

     ANS: A winning candidate has far more leverage to enact his or her programs, if elected by a large majority. The vote you cast will not only help elect your candidate, it will also help him or her during the winner's term of office. In political jargon, your vote gives your candidate more "clout". And besides, you cannot depend upon opinion polls - the one, single thing you can count on is your own secret ballot.

      My favorite candidate is predicted to lose, so why should I vote?

      ANS: If a losing candidate gets a lot of votes, he or she "stays alive" for future elections. Your vote has long-term effects. It helps those who lose this election remain as strong candidates for the next election. Furthermore, it puts the winning candidate "on notice" that there is a substantial bloc of voters out there who didn't want him or her in office.

     Politics turns me off. I just don't feel part of the process, so why vote?

     ANS: Look, you're an American citizen, so you are "part of the process", whether you like that or not. Voting has long been called a citizen's duty. In fact, it is an inalienable right - a "use it or lose it" proposition. Just think of how many people in the world don't have the secret ballot. When you have finished with that mental exercise, take a quick look at the countries they live in. Almost invariably, countries that have few or no voting rights are repressed and poverty-stricken dictatorships. Here in the U.S., we enjoy a "constitutional privilege", which we call the secret ballot. It's the shield that protects our freedoms, and it's a good one.

     All right, all right! There are good, practical reasons to vote, but what is the fundamental ethic for voting?

     ANS: We must vote to make our collective American voices heard, pure and simple. When voting percentages drop to less than 20%, then one-tenth of our voting population elects all officials. That's wrong, a priori. Edmund Burke, the English political philosopher (and a supporter of the American colonies), once said, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." Here at South Boston Online, we think something similar can be said about voting. So, please vote on November 8.