The importance of voting

To the editor:

I was sitting in a pizza parlor in 1995 with my then 8-year-old daughter.  We were getting a slice before a family event at the Bronx New School.

The TV reporter on the evening news explained that recently elected Gov. George Pataki had agreed to allow the extradition of convicted murderer Thomas Grasso, who had committed a capital crime, to Oklahoma.

During the report, my daughter asked me what a capital crime was, and I explained it to her. Horrified, she immediately asked, “But what if they make a mistake?” She certainly asked the right question. And for me, I knew more clearly than ever voting and elections do matter.

Thomas Grasso was indeed extradited to Oklahoma and was executed by lethal injection a short time later. The convicted man hadn’t been extradited while Mario Cuomo was governor due to Cuomo’s staunch opposition to the death penalty. Voting in a new governor in New York changed the course of Thomas Grasso’s life abruptly. 

Usually, election results and consequences aren’t so quickly or dramatically apparent. But the consequences can be deep and long lasting, affecting budgets, policies, taxes, benefits and much more. 

My point is to say, whatever you think about the death penalty, everyone needs to vote. Vote early in these coming days, vote on Nov. 5, but vote. 

And when you think voting doesn’t matter, remember Thomas Grasso.  

Lois Harr