It’s Election Day — Are YOU Voting? [POLL]

It's Election Day in America. Not as impressive as Football Night In America, perhaps, but many times more important. So here's today's question: are you voting today?

A study earlier this year reveals that the US ranks 120th out of the roughly 170 countries with known statistics on voter turnout [some of those nations, to be fair, are totalitarian states, which obviously alters the picture. But not that much...].

Putting that ranking in a little perspective, George Mason University political scientist Michael McDonald estimates that only 60 % of eligible voters will visit the polls today, a lower percentage than in other Western democracies.

Why do other nations have higher voter turnouts? Some nations [Australia, for instance] make voting mandatory, assessing non-voters a small fine. Other nations hold fewer elections than America's roughly once-a-year average. Still others say that anyone who can prove citizenship is automatically registered to vote, instead of having to register seperately.

In the case of the Presidential vote, our unusual system, which features the mysterious Electoral College , may discourage some voters. But since almost every election ballot today lists local and statewide races, as well as the Obama - Romney faceoff, there's really little excuse for skipping today's count.

But if any arguement might be suggested, it's trumped by this number: @ 689,000. That's the number of Americans who've died in every American war except the Civil War. It's the number of Americans who've died to guarantee your right to vote.

So, just out of curiosity:

If you plan on voting today, thank you.If you don't, could you please add a comment here or on our Facebook page saying why you don't intend to?

[MilitaryFactory.com/Wikipedia/Yahoo!News]