In the spirit of my post earlier in the week (the one where I encouraged you to vote at MyStarbucksIdea.com for Starbucks to carry the award-winning line of PureFit Nutrition Bars), today I’m back to encourage you to vote for something much more important.

Next Tuesday is Election Day here in the United States (I make that distinction because of the fact that PureFit Bars are now being sold in Canada – shameless plug, I know). Here at PureFit World Headquarters, in Irvine, California, each of our employees receives one-hour off with pay to vote in the election. Related to this, have a look at the following video:

If you own or operate a business, regardless of your politics, do what I and so many other leading companies have done… give your employees paid time-off to vote. Supporting those who wish to participate in the democratic process is a worthwhile and noble cause.

Oh, and if you think your vote doesn’t count, just take a look at this (supplied by the good folks over at Patagonia):

• Governor: In the 2004 Washington state governor’s race, the pro-environment candidate won by approximately 130 votes out of 4 million cast.
• State Legislature: In a recent race for the state legislature in Montana, a candidate with a solid environmental record lost by two votes.
• National: In 2007, after months of negotiations, Congress was set to vote on renewable energy standards. Opponents of renewables fought back with a filibuster. Twice the Senate tried to break the filibuster, twice they were defeated; the first time by 7 votes, the second by only 1. Clean energy incentives were subsequently stripped from the bill.

Note: If you do not where the polling stations are for your area, please visit this map, which allows you to search for polling locations according to your address.