To the editor:

Your vote affects everyone and you need to vote the entire ballot! Why do we have bad state or local amendments that pass? For a state amendment to pass, you must get 60 percent of votes cast to be accepted. The fewer persons that cast a vote, make it easier to pass the amendment with less votes.

Example: With 100 votes, it takes 60 votes to meet the threshold. With 1,000 votes, it takes 600 votes to meet the threshold. If the issue is a local change, you only have to get only 50 percent to pass the change. People often complain that they cannot understand how amendments get passed.

Answer: People who stay home and do not vote! People who don’t take time to fully understand the issue itself or the consequences that follow. People who do not vote the whole ballot or just vote for the president only!

Please get informed. Please vote so we can all have better candidates and a government that works for all!

Joan Patterson

Lehigh Acres