Be willing to vote split ticket

Our political climate has been so dysfunctional for the past 10 to 15 years. We are so polarized that we forgot about working together. Believing that all Republicans are fascists and all Democrats are socialists is not true.

We will never have a viable third-party option in my lifetime. Why, because of big corporate money and court rulings. The option before us is the “lesser of the two evils.” I am asking you not to vote a straight party ticket in our upcoming elections. Put country over party.

Don’t be a lemming. Take your time and select candidates from both parties.

Through the years, there have been better options if you look for them. I have voted for five decades and stopped voting a straight-party ticket by my mid-30s. I learned to never blindly follow whom my employer, religion or union said to vote for. Time to time, I even change my party affiliations in primary elections to select a specific candidate or candidates.

I am not a conservative or a liberal. I am a moderate. I compromise. Compromise is not a dirty word. We all move forward when we compromise.

In this upcoming presidential election, my choice for president sadly rests on maintaining democracy for our children’s and grandchildren’s future. Character counts here. Good character shapes good policy. So please middle-class Republicans and other independents, don’t vote a straight party ticket. Change one vote for the Democratic candidate for president, and you can vote the remainder Republicans.

Democrats, no one says you can’t vote for a local, state or federal Republican. Look what voting straight Democratic did to Illinois’ financial state. We vote by secret ballot. No one knows how you voted. Democracy not dictatorship.

We all deserve better.

Rich Niemaszyk

Elgin