Picture it, John:

A graveyard on a dark night, with the light of a rising moon, soon obscured by roving clouds. As you wander through the maze of mausoleums and towering headstones, you realize the entrance gate is out of sight. You're lost . Then, suddenly, the moonlight is extinguished, plunging you into an inky darkness.

The temperature is dropping, and you can feel the blood draining from your face as panic sets in. With shaking hands, you fumble around for your phone, hoping it can provide the necessary light to get out. You finally reach your phone and pull it out of your pocket with such force that it flies from your hand.

Gasping expletives, you fling yourself forward in hope of finding your only hope of rescue, your phone. You grapple with the ground as wet grass soaks the knees of your pants, and your jacket sleeves grow heavier with mud.

"Ouch!"

You frantically crawled head first into a granite headstone. You touch your forehead and feel the bump growing there. Oof, that's going to leave a mark.

The clouds break – only for a moment, but long enough for you to read the inscription on the headstone:

A republic, if you can keep it.

Just before darkness descends again, you spot your phone. Muddy, wet, head pounding, you activate the flashlight to examine the headstone more closely:

The American Democratic-Republic

Established with great faith in humanity and hope for the future.

"A republic, if you can keep it."

-Benjamin Franklin at the Constitutional Convention

1776 until...

And before you finish reading, your battery dies.

Scary stuff, right?!

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Years ago, a very dedicated volunteer carved this Jack-o-lantern for our campaign. Maybe tonight I can carve a new one, but "Lieutenant Governor" has so many letters we may need a second pumpkin.

What scares me the most about our future is our waning civic health. We are bombarded each day with the sinister effects of hyper-partisan attacks that drive deeper and deeper divides in our country. Our civic health has been failing for some time now, but we still have a chance to save it.

Voting is key to civic health. When people vote, they are buying into our democratic system and fighting for our future. Even in the darkest days of fall — during a presidential election year when everything feels like it's on the line — we must keep faith in our power to vote because through voting, we preserve our democracy.

I don't want anyone to bonk their head on the tombstone of the American Democratic-Republic, so make sure you vote. But when you vote, cast your ballot for candidates who will strengthen our civic health, not weaken it.

As your Lieutenant Governor, I will always work to bridge the partisan divide, strengthen our democracy, and heal our civic life. But, I need your help to do it. So, if you haven't turned in your ballot, do it today, John. This is the first step to building a stronger democracy.

Then, if you are looking for other ways to participate in our democratic process, don't be afraid to volunteer for campaigns or run for office. And, if you have the means, please donate to my reelection campaign and help me strengthen our civic health for future generations. [[link removed]]

Thank you,

Denny

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