'Cut the budget without cutting our voting rights'

On March 15, Village of Woodbury voters decide whether to change the election date from March to June and the term for mayor and trustees from two to four years, beginning with 2013 and 2012 respectively. The third Tuesday in June is near the beginning of summer. Many voters are likely to have left for summer vacation by then. The reason given for changing the terms from two to four years is to save money, because the average election costs about $6,000. Regardless of whether one divides that $6,000 by the number of registered voters in the Village of Woodbury (6,263) or the number of taxpayers (about 3,300 homes plus commercial properties) per person, it’s a miniscule amount. With people in other parts of the world fighting for scraps of rights, why would anyone give up the right to vote officials out after two years in order to save less than the price of a Big Mac? Cut the budget without cutting our voting rights. Please vote no to Propositions One, Two and Three on March 15. Mary Gross-Ferraro Highland Mills