This year, there is an election for president where the two major candidates are quite plainly, awful. So awful that it almost doesn’t feel right to cast a vote for either of them. Yes this is my opinion, but I challenge anyone to give me a compelling and convincing argument on how either candidate could be seen as a good choice. Regardless, that is not my point. Both of the candidates are awful to me, but I am still going to vote in the election, whether it is for one of them or for a third party candidate. I may not feel that Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton deserve to be in the oval office, but one of the only ways I have of voicing my opinion is to vote, and that is why I am going to do so. Voting is the most important thing citizens can do that truly affects the political world.
Most of the people I know do intend to vote in the election this summer, yet, too often I hear “my vote doesn’t matter” and “I’m just one vote, I can’t change anything”. In an election with candidates as horrible as these, it is understandable why some people would not want to vote. However, the irony is that the people who say their vote doesn’t matter and do not vote are the people that complain about politics the most. The only way the average citizens can incite any amount of political change is by voting in elections, weather it is for the president, congressman, or elections at the local level. Sadly, people still do not vote all the time.
According to a study done by the Pew Research Center, America has a voting-age population of over 240 million people, and barely half of them voted in the 2012 presidential election at a dismal 129 million people (53.6%). That ranks 31st out of 35 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, nearly all of which are strong and developed democracies. In my opinion, this is a disgusting and downright miserable statistic that my country lays claim to. If we so often preach we are the greatest country in the word, why do only half of us vote in elections? If only half of us vote in elections, why do we complain so much about the president and other offices? Quite frankly, I have no idea the answer to these questions.
If I want something to change in my country, I am going to vote in elections, whether they be for the president of the United States or the mayor of Johns Creek. For everyone who does not want to vote, hear this: If everyone who says “my one vote does not mater” voted, that is millions of people all going to the polls to incite political change. And not just for the presidential election, but local elections too. The quickest and most obvious way to see political change is to vote in local elections, because things will change right where you live. Once voter turnout starts to rise, people will become more educated on issues in our country, and we will be able to do something about those issues. I repeat, voting in elections is the single most influential thing a citizen of the United Sates can do to make their opinion heard.
I write this article as a call to action. Voting is a privilege that we have in America that is not found in all other countries around the world. We should consider ourselves lucky that we have this privilege, and not a corrupt leadership who stuffs ballot boxes. To the millions of people who feel like their vote does not matter, please, vote for office. Learn about the elections and the issues the candidates are fighting for. Motivate yourself and others around you to go to the polling places and cast your vote. Once everyone’s voice is heard through the casting of votes, the country will show its true colors and share its true opinions on how it should be run. Voting is a privilege, and we should not take it for granted.
