DN Editorial: VOTE. THAT'S WHAT IT'S ABOUT: If you don't cast a ballot, they win. And our democracy loses

WHEN Scottish citizens went to the polls in September to vote for independence, nearly 85 percent of the voting population turned out.

Last year's election in Philadelphia saw a turnout of 11 percent.

You could say that the stakes were higher for Scotland, since it was voting to govern and rule itself, and last year's local election here had few big races.

But that's hardly an excuse for our spotty track record - as Philadelphians and as Pennsylvanians - to exercise our rights as free citizens. Especially since every year those rights become more and more endangered. Two distinct trends are converging to imperil us as a democracy: the staggering amounts of money spent on elections, and the staggering energy by some to curtail the right to vote among some segments of the population.

The 2008 presidential election that put Barack Obama in office saw a higher voter turnout - 64 percent - than 2004. Five million more voted in 2008, most of them black, Hispanic or Asian, according to the U.S. Census. Not coincidentally, thus began movements among many consevatives and Republicans to take away with voter-ID efforts the edge that the Democrats saw with support from minority voters. By 2012, the voter-ID mania was in full swing, and Pennsylvania was among 19 states passing laws that would restrict free access to the polls. The excuse was voter fraud, which is, in reality, a nonissue.

Here in Pennsylvania, the issue was not just about photo IDs, but stringent requirements for acquiring the proper type of identification, which many believed would burden minority populations the most.

Fortunately, a Commonwealth judge struck down that law at the beginning of this year; Gov. Corbett said he wouldn't appeal.

But the threat hasn't gone away. Recently, the Supreme Court upheld a Texas law requiring voter ID, which will be in effect tomorrow.

This is bad enough, but devastating coupled with the rise of big money in elections - thanks, in part, to a Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United, which granted free-speech rights to corporations. The power we should all be sharing is increasingly in the hands of a few special interests - on both sides of the aisle. The Center for Responsive Politics estimates that $4 billion will be spent on this election.

The only thing we have to combat these erosions is our own participation in the process. Without participation, we don't have a democracy, we have an illusion that makes us feel as if we're a superior model for the rest of the world.

Tomorrow's election has stakes - the biggest here being the race for governor. To that end, we're reprinting a guide to the issues in that race, along with the Daily News editorial board's views on those issues (see Next Page). In addition, the control of the U.S. Senate may change depending on this election.

But even bigger than that, what's at stake - as always - is the strength and reality of our democracy. Democracy is never granted easily. It always involves a fight - and around the world, that fight still goes on. Right now, students in Hong Kong are at the battle lines for democracy.

Tomorrow, we all have a chance to stand for the right of a free society.

Make sure to vote.