I've been talking to a couple of City Council candidates about what could be done to improve voter turnout. You could say that not much was at stake in this election, but how about how the school board election in May? You couldn't have asked for more contentious times, but turnout limped in under 22 percent. I suggested (not an original idea) putting $1,000 into a pot and awarding it to one voter selected at random after the election is over. A candidate suggested restricting the award just to voters in precincts that meet certain voter turnout targets. Maybe a more serious idea would be to shower some randomly selected voter with public honors: a key to the city, gift certificates, City Council resolution, dinner and drinks -- who knows? Sounds kind of tacky, but if we honor veterans and firefighters and law enforcement officers, why not honor voters? They are the ones who really make democracy work, and as their numbers diminish, they become increasingly valuable and praiseworthy.