Exercise your right to vote Published Nov. 20, 2006 By Capt. Jeff Calvert Vance Installation Voting Assistance Officer Vance Air Force Base, Okla. -- "The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight." -- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th U.S. President All of us who are familiar with the demands and sacrifices required in military service can relate to the idea of pulling your own weight -- making a constant effort to deal with all your responsibilities and tasks, and striving every day to make things better. However, it's equally important to recognize there are also responsibilities we need to meet as citizens of our great country. One of the most important rights and responsibilities is the right to vote. Armed Forces Voter's Week is Sept. 3 through 9. Every day we can see news coverage of conflict occurring overseas as people struggle for this basic right that we, as Americans, tend to take for granted. The good news is, as servicemembers we do pretty well in the voting arena. Voting participation peaked in the 2004 election, with nearly 80 percent of eligible military voters casting ballots in elections. At Vance, we have many assets to make voting easier for us as military members and dependents. Chief among these is your unit voting assistance officer. Each unit has at least one assigned unit voting officer who is available to answer questions and assist in getting you registered to vote, either locally or by absentee ballot. If you have a question and are unable to reach your unit voting rep, there is a voting assistance hotline available at 6650 where you can leave messages, or e-mail me at jeffrey.calvert@vance.af.mil with any questions. Voting is both a right and a privilege, and it's easy to do with the help of your unit voting reps -- so let us help! All of us would love to get you registered, and in most cases the process takes just a few minutes to fill out a federal post card application -- but don't wait. It takes time to get the application in and the ballots back, so earlier is better. If you have specific questions about when your state elections take place or how to get yourself or your family members registered, your unit voting reps can help. Remember -- we serve to protect our rights as citizens, so exercise those rights. Get out and vote!