Does one vote really matter?  Yes. 
Yours sure does.  Especially if you're a REALTOR®.

There are arguments about voting and civic duty that have filled books.  There are real life, present time examples of people in other countries still fighting for the right to vote.  But there are also present day, urgent reasons why it is critical that you vote in this election this year to protect yourself and your industry.

So it's important that you vote, but does one vote really make a difference?  Absolutely.  First, your vote makes more of a splash than you may think from a raw numbers viewpoint.  We have roughly 7,000 REALTORS® at GLVAR who are registered to vote.  I spoke to a group of 150 yesterday and saw many jaws drop when I told them that more than 2 percent of our REALTOR® party electorate was sitting in that room.

If one office turns out an additional 70 voters it increases our voter turnout ratio by 1%.  If ten offices do that it will bump our voter turnout numbers by 10%.  And if the REALTOR® party has voter turnout 10% or 20% higher than the general public, any elected official will see the value of this group and make it a priority to educate themselves on your issues.  We need them to understand our issues, and the easiest way to get the attention of elected officials is to be a group that turns out and votes in high numbers.

With every block of 70 votes adding another percentage point to our turnout, every vote is a step toward higher voting numbers.  Many local elections are won or lost by 100 votes or less.  With races that close, the REALTORS® in your office can cast the deciding votes in city council races; the races that decide who votes up or down on graffiti ordinances, those steep fines for dandelions, and other seemingly small issues that can greatly affect your day-to-day business.

And as a REALTOR®, your vote matters because it reflects the political acumen and involvement of our industry at large.  When you vote in larger numbers, we tell elected officials how many of you vote, and we educate them on what issues affect you.  When a lot of you vote, elected officials realize that we are a significant, organized part of their constituency, and that we will support them if they take the time to listen to our issues and give us a fair shake.

Our state faces an estimated $2.5 billion shortfall out of a $6 billion budget.  Most of the tax proposals to fill that gap in the 2011 legislature would affect REALTORS® to some degree.  Some of the proposed taxes affect REALTORS® very negatively, and would further slow down an already anemic real estate market.

What can you do to get involved? The most simple, most direct, most effective way to help support and protect your industry this year is to vote on October 16th, the first day of early voting.

Want to get your office organized for the election this year?  It's fast and easy.  Contact Joe Brezny at jbrezny@glvar.org or 702.784.5016 for more information.