In the midst of these tumultuous political times, in this age of terror, in this new millennium where fear is almost as prominent as hope, there is one way that YOU can make a difference. Of course there are the every day acts of kindness that can change someone's life, but this is much bigger than that. This is your chance to exercise your right as an American citizen. This is your chance to VOTE. And although the election doesn't happen for two more months, now is the time to get the ball rolling and get yourself registered.
In 2012, voter turnout for the entire nation was at only 58.2% for eligible voters according to Fairvote.org. This not so surprising statistic indicates that more than 40% of those eligible to vote in the past presidential election, didn't. Of course there are various reasons to consider such as inability to get to the polls, absentee ballots not being counted, etc. However, according to statisticsbrain.com in 2012 there were 218,959,000 eligible voters. That means that more than 87 million people who could have voted did not. That is the equivalent of our three most populous states, California, Texas and New York not having a single person, eligible or not, vote. Although those are a lot of statistics to be thrown around, the message is clear; you need to vote.
The right to vote is what our country fought for. We separated from Great Britain to be able to govern ourselves. The United States is seen around the world as a beacon of light for democracy. People literally die to be able to have the opportunity to have a say in their government. Now you might be thinking to yourself, well I'm just one person, my vote doesn't really matter. Yes, in the grand scheme of things the president of the United States will probably not be decided by one vote. But, think of all the other people who might have the same attitude. If 10 people, or 100 people, or 1,000 people decide not to vote because "I don't matter" then, yes, that will make a difference.
This election is one of the most discussed in history. Arguably, there have never been two more disliked candidates. So maybe another reason you don't want to vote is because you don't like either of them. Well, you not liking them doesn't change the fact that either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will become our next president. And you could possibly be a deciding factor in how that plays out.
Not sure how to vote? Well, there isn't an excuse for that either because the ever glorious Hank Green has already figured that out for you. A YouTube channel has been created so that you can figure out how to vote in your home state. Just visit https://www.youtube.com/c/howtovoteineverystate to find out more. Not going to be in your home state for the election? There's a solution to that too. Just go to https://www.vote.org/absentee-ballot/ and follow the instructions so that you can vote even from far away.
In case any of the things listed above aren't motivation enough to make you want to vote, a bunch of famous people are here to tell you why they think you should vote as well. But, you don't have to do it for me, you don't have to do it for them, you should do it for yourself. This is your opportunity, your obligation, and your best chance to make a real difference. So go out there and vote. You won't regret it.
