Ho, hum, another American Philatelic Society election. There’s only one candidate per office, so why bother?

If you are an APS member, you should vote anyway, even though the outcome is known. The same people who are in office now will be in office for the next three years. They’d like your support. They deserve your support.

So why bother? Because low voter turnout tells a stamp society’s leaders the members don’t care. The rank-and-file can’t be troubled to find a 55-cent stamp and spend 60 seconds ticking off check-boxes.

As a former officer of the APS and a current officer of other stamp societies, I can tell you, that’s discouraging. I’m volunteering my time and many expenses, and so many other members can’t find a minute and postage.

The APS usually does have more than one candidate per office, especially for the four director-at-large seats, which act as “entry level positions.” The lack of candidates here is also disheartening.

The society’s elections seem to run in cycles: Several cycles of quiet, separated by a single hard-fought and often nasty campaign. I worry that the last round of nastiness, when one candidate sued others for defamation, false advertising and more, is scaring off potential candidates.

But that shouldn’t stop you from voting. Pull out the ballot, mark it, and put it in the mail.

I’m betting you have a stamp or two lying around.