Many people try to influence an election. The president, especially, tries to influence the outcome of elections. This past summer, President Obama said he would act on amnesty for millions of illegal aliens in the United States by the end of summer. On October 8, it was announced that President Obama would wait until after the November election to grant an amnesty. According to White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, “Had the president moved forward with his announcement prior to election day, you would have seen Republican candidates do more to make the immigration issue central to their campaign, and in the event they were successful in their campaign, the concern would be that they would cite their opposition to immigration reform as a reason for their success.” Perhaps the reason they might cite, if successful, is that granting amnesty by Executive Order is unconstitutional.

After a Senator or Representative is elected by their constituents, they go to Washington, D.C., to work for their constituents needs. They periodically make trips back to their home state to meet with constituents and find out what they think Congress should do to improve peoples lives. The question then becomes, how often should they visit their constituents?

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is one of seven senators to travel to their home states 11 times a year or fewer. He actually returned to Nevada 11 times in the past three years, the least amount of any senator.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) averages nine annual trips to California. That’s one-third as many as most lawmakers. A Feinstein spokesman said that “the senator often stays in Washington for full work periods (three weeks or so) rather than flying back every weekend, ”especially since California is further away than most states. Yet, in 2001, Feinstein said that traveling home frequently was “really helpful” because “you talk to — well, real people about real issues and you can bring back stories and anecdotes and suggestions.” The other California Senator, Barbara Boxer (D-CA), makes 30 trips to California annually, which is the average.

When deciding whether to vote for an incumbent, perhaps you should consider how often that politician returns, or doesn’t return, to their home state to meet with constituents.

On election day, the most important thing that should influence your vote is whether or not you are voting for candidates that support and protect American citizens rights, not non-existent illegal aliens rights. When you cast your ballot on election day, remember the words of one of our Founding Fathers, Samuel Adams, who said: “Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual — or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.”

In our current environment of seemingly rigged elections, it’s easy to become apathetic and not bother to vote at all because you think it won’t make any difference to the outcome. One way to defeat a rigged election is with massive voter turnout. Voting is a way of voicing your opinion on where you think the country should be heading. Not standing up for what you believe is right can lead to atrocities like the Holocaust. Consider this poem, written by Pastor Martin Niemoeller, that has become an expression of the lesson of the Holocaust, the next time you are thinking about not voting in an election:

THEY CAME FIRST for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.

THEN THEY CAME for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.

THEN THEY CAME for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

THEN THEY CAME for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant.

THEN THEY CAME for me,
and by that time no one was left to speak up.

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