Source: The Muslim Public Affairs Council
http://www.mpac.org/home_article_display.aspx?ITEM=660
On March 2, 2004 The Muslim Public Affairs Council reported, " In this election, as we have witnessed in several elections in the past and will experience in the future, talking heads on television networks will tell us who will likely win. The underlying message is why bother voting at all. For Muslims, that concern is amplified when we see politicians courting the Muslim dollar and the Muslim vote, but when the candidate is elected and is tested on issues of civil liberties and accessibility to the government, we do not see as much progress as we desire. We must, therefore, look beyond the candidates and the ballot measures. Voting, therefore, is pursued not only for the desired effect of choosing someone for office that we as a people collectively empower. Voting must be viewed as an act of preserving our democracy. For without the vote, the party in power runs the country without the consent of the people. And without the vote, the alternative is government by coercion, i.e. a dictatorship. "