OK, I shouldn't have to say this but I'm gonna anyway:

Go vote!

If you're a woman reading this-and you probably are, since 97% of the folks who read this magazine are women-you may think it's pretty silly of me telling you to go vote, given that women tend to show up at the polls in larger numbers than men. In fact, back in 2000, 61% of eligible women voters cast a ballot, whereas just 58% of eligible male voters did, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

But here are some crimps in that rosy civic scenario:

* 22 million unmarried women didn't vote in the 2000 election, according to Women's Voices Women Vote

* In my own Northwest Austin Precinct, 48% of eligible women voters chose to sit-out the 2002 mid-term election, and 24% of them have never voted at all.

Women are 51% of the population. If we registered and voted, we could sway an election. Politicians know this, which is why they're spending so much money this year to woo us women. I don't know about you, but I have received tons of flyers from both the Republican and Democrat candidates literally begging me for my vote. My husband, meantime, has been summarily ignored.

We women are so important to elections that we have been given funny little names to identify us as particular kinds of voters-"soccer moms" and "security moms"-and government position papers have been written about our possible voting trends this election (one of them, Women Voters in the 2004 Election, is actually posted on the various U.S. Embassy sites around the world!)

By the time you read this, it's going to be too late to register to vote. But it's not going to be too late to encourage your women friends, relatives, co-workers, and acquaintances to actually go out and exercise their right to vote.

I would encourage you-no, beg you-to focus some "get out the vote" attention on the single women you know. These women are much less likely than married women-or women with children-to vote. Many don't see the point.

This year that may be different, since we have such a contentious presidential race going on. But it's not just presidential politics women need to follow. Local elections are every bit as important to us. Who you send to the legislature will determine the fate of local taxes, local health care initiatives, school finance, and a host of other issues. The person you send to Congress will be responsible for shaping national policy that directly affects you. The presidential race may be more sexy, but your local state rep race and congressional race could affect you far more.

You'll notice that I've kept this Editor's Note non-partisan. I'm not going to tell you how to vote, for whom, or for which party. I'm going to assume that you're smart and that you can make those decisions on your own after doing a modicum of research and reading on the various candidates and issues.

The only thing I will do is encourage you to vote how you see fit. Each of us is entitled to vote-indeed, should vote-our conscience. While input from friends, husbands and others can be important in shaping your thoughts about a particular candidate or issue, you shouldn't let anyone else dictate how you vote. Have confidence in yourself and your knowledge of the issues and then vote based on that knowledge.

And take a female friend along with you to the polls.

Happy voting!