<div dir="ltr"><div><br></div>Esteemed Colleagues,<div><br></div><div>One of the reasons I became a citizen of this country is its deep root and respect for democracy, an envy of the rest of the world. This is the first time ever that the fundamental premise of free and fair election is being questioned by a large group of people. </div><div><br></div><div>The best way to fight this misconception is to increase the voter turnout. The best defense for democracy is the exercise of it. </div><div><br></div><div>Now, why I am telling things you already know? That is because I read an interesting article in <a href="http://nytimes.com">nytimes.com</a> today, where I learned that just asking others, 'did you vote already?' has a positive impact on voter participation.</div><div><br></div><div>Suppose, each of us do just that, ask our students, 'Do you know there is a place in San Diego where you can go right now and vote just with an ID card?'<br><div><br></div><div>BTW, I voted today. Even though I generally mail my ballot, I stopped by at the Registers of Voters office (<a href="http://www.sdvote.com/">http://www.sdvote.com/</a> <span style="font-size:13px">5600 Overland Ave, San Diego, CA 92123</span>) to make sure that my vote counts. There was barely any line and the staff were so helpful. It is indeed a beautiful thing to see how the greatest democracy in the world works.</div><div><br clear="all"><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div>Thanks,</div><div><br></div><div>Sooby</div><div><br></div>Subrata (Sooby) Bhattacharjee, Ph.D., ASME Fellow<br>Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department<br>Affiliated Professor, Computer Science Department<br>San Diego State University<br><div><br></div><div><a href="mailto:prof.bhattacharjee@gmail.com" target="_blank">prof.bhattacharjee@gmail.com</a></div><div>Tel: (619)-594-6080; Fax: (619)-594-3599; Office: E323-K; Lab: E-331<br><br>Thermodynamics Courseware: <a href="http://www.thermofluids.net" target="_blank">http://www.thermofluids.net</a><div>Research Website: <a href="http://mechanical.sdsu.edu" target="_blank">http://flame.sdsu.edu</a><br><div><br></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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