Often times, Americans think their single independent vote does not make a difference in the midst of all the other votes collected at polls around the country. I often hear people justify their lack of presence in the voting booths with all kinds of excuses.
“There’s no point, the Electoral College decides it all anyways”
“My one vote isn’t going to matter”
And my favorite:
“ I don’t like either of the candidates, so I’m just not going to vote”
Here’s what I have to say to them.
1. Your vote not only matters, it is important!
According to U.S. Census data, only 41.9 percent of the total citizen population voted in the midterm elections in November 2014. You do the math. This means that 58.1 percent of eligible voters did not vote! If all, or even some, of these people had cast a vote, the results could have had drastically different results. In addition, the electors of each state in the Electoral College are voted in directly by the people. They are typically voted in for supporting a particular candidate. Therefore, your state’s electors should vote for the candidate who earned the majority vote in your state.
2. Voting is a right that those before us have worked hard to earn
You’ve heard it again and again, because it is true. Not every nation is a democracy. Not everyone has the opportunity to choose their leaders. In the United States, you have to be a citizen and 18 years old to register. That’s it. However, it hasn’t always been this way. In early colonial America, you had to be white, male, and wealthy in order to vote. Thanks to the hard work of our ancestors, this is no longer the case.
3. So you don't like the candidates that made it to the final Election Day?
I am sorry that you feel that way. Unfortunately, it happens. What you have to realize though, is that one candidate is still going to become the president! Regardless of your opinions and feelings, one of the candidates is going to win the election and become one of the most powerful people in the world. If you care about your country and it's future at all, you will still put your ballot in.
See you at the polls.
