Election’s coming

If you intend to vote in the Nov. 4 election, there are two crucial dates during the next week that you ought to jot down

The first date is this Thursday, Oct. 9.

That’s when the American Association of University Women will conduct its candidates’ forum in Baker City. The Baker City Herald is a co-sponsor.

The event is scheduled for 7 o’clock that evening in the Baker High School Commons, 2500 E St.

Candidates for Baker City Council and the Baker County Commission are invited to the forum, and everyone else is invited to ask the candidates questions or just listen to their answers.

The second red-letter date is Tuesday, Oct. 14.

That’s the last day you can register to vote in the Nov. 4 election.

You can register at the County Courthouse, 1995 Third St. If you don’t remember whether you’re registered to vote in Oregon you can check your status online, via a link at the Baker County Clerk’s Web site: www.bakercounty.org/Clerks/Elections.html, or go to www.oregonvotes.org.

The importance of registering to vote is self-explanatory.

Being a thoughtful, informed voter — the purpose of Thursday’s public forum at BHS — is a more subtle manner.

There’s no law, of course, that requires voters to know anything about the candidates or the measures on the ballot.

The Constitution makes no mention of trashing the ballots of voters who are ignorant of the issues of the day.

Still and all, everyone benefits when the people who choose our representatives, and decide whether to boost our property taxes, understand what’s at stake before they fill in the boxes on the ballot.

Consider this: If you’re going to pick the people who decide how much you’ll pay for water and sewer service, wouldn’t you want to know, in advance, whether those people think you’re paying too much or too little?