Don't care? Don't vote -- I'll take it from here.

We always see a lot of reports about the declining electorate. Some bemoan the fact that more people voted in the "American Idol" competition than did in the last presidential election.

Both parties always work to "get out the vote," practically dragging people off the streets (of the proper political stripe, of course) and getting them registered. Another popular solution has been the "motor voter" act, which lets citizens conveniently register to vote when they pick up their driver's license.

Personally, I'd like to see it all stop. Registering to vote isn't a complicated process, but it does require a little effort -- but no more so than voting for the American Idol, and getting a driver's license.

And if someone only registers if everyone else does the work for them, what kind of a voter will they be? I'd rather not have our officials elected by "Eenie, meanie, minee, moe."

Here's how I look at it. Every apathetic voter that stays home just makes my vote count more.

Consider: in a pool of 10,000 voters, my vote is one voice among 10,000. If 5,000 stay home, then my vote basically doubles in power. Today's a local election, so turnout may be more like 2,000 -- which makes my vote worth five votes.

So if you don't care much for your right to vote, that's your right. Do everyone a favor and please stay home. Folks that are concerned and informed about the issues will make the decisions that need to be made.

After all, you wouldn't want folks like me who don't follow "American Idol" to screw up the results by calling in random votes, would you?

- Ralph