Regardless of how the results made you feel Wednesday morning, one bit of news should've disappointed you: voter turnout in 2016 was lowest it’s been in twenty years. That means that about 45%, or 94 million, of voting-age citizens in the United States chose not to vote. From completely self-driven, to an inconvenient-at-best vote placement process, to a depressingly unappealing choice of presidential candidates, the reasons for not voting aren't exactly outlandish. However, these reasons aren’t good enough for me. So, instead of trying out the flavor of the week and writing an emotionally-charged letter to whatever political camp I disagree with, I’m going to tell you why voting is a good idea.
The reason for not voting that I’ve heard most frequently (sorry this can’t boil down to statistics, but non-voters don’t exactly take exit polls) can be traced back to this question.
“What does it matter? It’s not like anything I do will make a difference.”
An argument can be made that a single vote matters much more than a question such as that would have us believe, but my concern isn’t to argue the numbers (If the subject interests you, I’d recommend you look into Anthony Downs’ An Economic Theory of Democracy or more recently Alvin Goldman’s Why Citizens Should Vote: A Causal Responsibility Account). Instead, I’d like to provide a few reasons that one would vote regardless of the numbers, and of the contribution a single vote has on the outcome of an election.
Local Elections
Voting is a means of stating how you’d like to interact with government. Congresspeople, State legislators, sheriffs, judges, and school board members are all on the ballot. These folks, while not quite as influential as a president, define your experience of government as much or more. Local government officials have the potential to enact change on their constituents’ behalf, and choosing the right people for the job is the responsibility of the voters.
Voting is a Means of Declaring Support and Solidarity
You can attend all the political rallies and write all the long-winded blog posts you please, if you don’t vote for the candidate you support then it defeats the purpose of your participation in politics. Your vote is what ties you together to the millions of people who you politically identify with.
Voting is a Right: There’s a reason voting is referred to by many as “exercising your right to vote.” Even within the United States, who values democracy as one of its defining principles, has historically fought against expanding citizenship and voting rights in any way. When George Washington was elected president, around 6% of the United States’ population was allowed to vote. Despite significant advances in voting rights, debates about who can and cannot vote (look into Puerto Rican voting rights if you're interested) continue to this day. With this in mind, let alone that about half the world’s population doesn't live in a legally sound democracy, it’s pretty disheartening that almost half of Americans with the right to vote chose not to.
Voting is a Means of Mitigating Liability, and Claiming Responsibility: Whatever happens in the next two to four years is largely a result of the public figures that the public elected and, therefore, the votes that were cast in their favor. Whatever change that a politician enacts (or doesn’t enact) comes if and only if people vote them into office. If you voted for a certain candidate who passes some very positive legislation, you can take a very small amount of responsibility for the positive change that occurred. In the same vein, if you voted against a certain candidate who passes some very negative legislation, or is responsible for a series of unpopular actions, you can remove yourself from the actions of your government in a similar manner.
Whatever reason you have to voting, even if it’s just to get a cool sticker, it is my sincere hope that you do. You might not get the outcome you hoped for, but at least you got your say.
