There's no excuse not to vote

re. Not ashamed of not voting,

I find it difficult to express how appalled I am at letter writer Peter Hynd's excuse for not voting. His statement "Few of the parties or candidates made any real effort to tell me why they deserved my vote" identifies the problem exactly. He expects the political parties to spoon feed sound bites to the voters.

Democracy is not a spectator sport, to entertain and excite the audience. No party can explain their platform in a 30 second commercial or on an election flyer. While candidates have to make an effort to appeal to the voters if they expect to get elected, their real purpose is to provide the electorate with choice.

It is the voters' responsibility to learn about the issues and the positions parties take in order to cast informed votes for what they believe is the best direction for our country. With the Internet, you don't even have to leave your chair to obtain a copy of the various parties' platform books or to ask detailed questions of the candidates. Unless you are in a coma, there is no excuse for not voting.

Gary Dale