Why Vote?
Note: Versions of this post have also served as an article for a student newspaper and a college application essay. I've adapted it a bit for this venue, but the sentiments work for all three.
We take for granted that we will not be ruled by tyrannical dictators. We take for granted that we will have cars and paved roads to drive them on. We take for granted that we will go to school and not have to pay for the privilege. We take for granted that we will not disappear in the middle of the night for voicing criticisms of our government. We take for granted that we will be able to voice our opinions on the Internet, and, for that matter, to access the Internet freely (unless we're at school--my school blocks everything remotely interesting).
There lies the problem: we take it for granted. Voter turnout in the United States, even in highly publicized, high-stakes presidential elections, is abysmally low. In 2004, the year of an election that polarized the country after George W. Bush's first presidency, only 61% of those eligible to do so turned up at the polls on election day. When the office of chief executive is not at stake, such as in 2006, those numbers are even lower, coming in at just over 41%. I once worked at a Kids Voting booth on a day with a few local elections and not much else. I was there for five hours, and no more than a few dozen voters filled out real ballots; less than a dozen children participated in Kids Voting. I spoke to eligible voters that day who didn't see the point in coming to the polls. Considering all of these elections, even those with a majority of eligible voters filling out ballots have low voter turnout rates among Western democracies. I volunteered during the recent primary election for Hillary Clinton's campaign, making phone calls to get out the vote in the week leading up to the primaries. There were the expected hang-ups, the supporters, those who wouldn't vote for her for various reasons, a few undecided voters, and also a surprising number of people who said they did not vote. They didn't see a point. They didn't care how things turned out. They did not believe that their votes counted. They didn't believe in a representative government, but they certainly wouldn't have wanted to lose the rights that we have in this country. They couldn't imagine not having them, though, and from that stems apathy.
In places where a representative government is a new phenomenon, and one they have fought for, those people don't take it for granted, and they don't see voting as a hindrance the way people here do. It is a privilege to have a voice in the government, and no one can say that their government does not affect them.
Some countries have obligatory voting. Others have automatic registration. We have neither, though we do have “motor voter” laws to make it more convenient to register, but I still don't believe that fully accounts for our general apathy. People do not care enough to educate themselves on elections, and schools and parents often do a poor job (if there's any attempt) of getting young people interested in politics. There are many factors contributing to the tragedy of low voter turnout. You may say that tragedy is too strong a word for this phenomenon, but I ask you to please stop and think again. We live in a country where we do have a say in what our government is like. We are all constantly feeling the effects of these choices, as are people around the globe who don't have the chance to have a say in our powerful government as we do, whether or not we realize it at the time. Driving down an interstate highway is a result of government actions. Any student at a public school is affected every day by what happens in the government. Not being exposed to dangerous toxins when we splash through puddles of rainwater is thanks to government regulations. Using the Internet, as you are doing to read this, is something else affected by the government (surely you've heard about all the censorship of the Internet that the Chinese government does. And my school). The freedom to choose to support the government or to publicly and loudly protest against it is yet another example the freedom of choice that we are given here.
Vast numbers of eligible Americans do not vote, but you can bet with certainty that all of them, at some time or another, complain about the government. These people have no right to complain if they are not using the ballot box to do so! We don't remember fighting for the right to vote, so we, as a society, have lost sight of its importance. We don't remember that we all have a voice and a vote. So many people do not take advantage of it. They do not educate themselves on the issues. They don't register to vote. They don't make their voices heard on election day, not realizing that they are lucky enough to have voices that, no matter how vehemently protesting government actions, will not be silenced by said government. People here do not disappear in the middle of the night for disagreeing with the party in power. That is something we take for granted here, but it's something that is not so commonplace in much of the rest of the world.
I'm passionate about politics, but many people are ignorant of what's at stake. For those of us who couldn't dream of that sort of apathy, we are still affected by it. Our freedoms are jeopardized by people who don't seem to care if they retain the most important of those liberties. Being active and making our voices heard isn't enough; convincing apathetic citizens to break their silences is one of the hardest battles we fight, but it is also the most important one.
Make your voice heard. If you're not old enough to vote (I'm not), there are still plenty of ways to get involved (obviously, take a look at this website!). It's your future that's being decided next week, so put your time, money, and/or vote in the mix. Don't just complain pointlessly; complain to the ballot box. Obviously, I'd prefer if you're casting your ballot for Barack Obama, but, in all honesty, I'm just happy when people decide to vote at all, because so few people take advantage of it.
*Statistics from the United States Election Project at George Mason University.
We take for granted that we will not be ruled by tyrannical dictators. We take for granted that we will have cars and paved roads to drive them on. We take for granted that we will go to school and not have to pay for the privilege. We take for granted that we will not disappear in the middle of the night for voicing criticisms of our government. We take for granted that we will be able to voice our opinions on the Internet, and, for that matter, to access the Internet freely (unless we're at school--my school blocks everything remotely interesting).
There lies the problem: we take it for granted. Voter turnout in the United States, even in highly publicized, high-stakes presidential elections, is abysmally low. In 2004, the year of an election that polarized the country after George W. Bush's first presidency, only 61% of those eligible to do so turned up at the polls on election day. When the office of chief executive is not at stake, such as in 2006, those numbers are even lower, coming in at just over 41%. I once worked at a Kids Voting booth on a day with a few local elections and not much else. I was there for five hours, and no more than a few dozen voters filled out real ballots; less than a dozen children participated in Kids Voting. I spoke to eligible voters that day who didn't see the point in coming to the polls. Considering all of these elections, even those with a majority of eligible voters filling out ballots have low voter turnout rates among Western democracies. I volunteered during the recent primary election for Hillary Clinton's campaign, making phone calls to get out the vote in the week leading up to the primaries. There were the expected hang-ups, the supporters, those who wouldn't vote for her for various reasons, a few undecided voters, and also a surprising number of people who said they did not vote. They didn't see a point. They didn't care how things turned out. They did not believe that their votes counted. They didn't believe in a representative government, but they certainly wouldn't have wanted to lose the rights that we have in this country. They couldn't imagine not having them, though, and from that stems apathy.
In places where a representative government is a new phenomenon, and one they have fought for, those people don't take it for granted, and they don't see voting as a hindrance the way people here do. It is a privilege to have a voice in the government, and no one can say that their government does not affect them.
Some countries have obligatory voting. Others have automatic registration. We have neither, though we do have “motor voter” laws to make it more convenient to register, but I still don't believe that fully accounts for our general apathy. People do not care enough to educate themselves on elections, and schools and parents often do a poor job (if there's any attempt) of getting young people interested in politics. There are many factors contributing to the tragedy of low voter turnout. You may say that tragedy is too strong a word for this phenomenon, but I ask you to please stop and think again. We live in a country where we do have a say in what our government is like. We are all constantly feeling the effects of these choices, as are people around the globe who don't have the chance to have a say in our powerful government as we do, whether or not we realize it at the time. Driving down an interstate highway is a result of government actions. Any student at a public school is affected every day by what happens in the government. Not being exposed to dangerous toxins when we splash through puddles of rainwater is thanks to government regulations. Using the Internet, as you are doing to read this, is something else affected by the government (surely you've heard about all the censorship of the Internet that the Chinese government does. And my school). The freedom to choose to support the government or to publicly and loudly protest against it is yet another example the freedom of choice that we are given here.
Vast numbers of eligible Americans do not vote, but you can bet with certainty that all of them, at some time or another, complain about the government. These people have no right to complain if they are not using the ballot box to do so! We don't remember fighting for the right to vote, so we, as a society, have lost sight of its importance. We don't remember that we all have a voice and a vote. So many people do not take advantage of it. They do not educate themselves on the issues. They don't register to vote. They don't make their voices heard on election day, not realizing that they are lucky enough to have voices that, no matter how vehemently protesting government actions, will not be silenced by said government. People here do not disappear in the middle of the night for disagreeing with the party in power. That is something we take for granted here, but it's something that is not so commonplace in much of the rest of the world.
I'm passionate about politics, but many people are ignorant of what's at stake. For those of us who couldn't dream of that sort of apathy, we are still affected by it. Our freedoms are jeopardized by people who don't seem to care if they retain the most important of those liberties. Being active and making our voices heard isn't enough; convincing apathetic citizens to break their silences is one of the hardest battles we fight, but it is also the most important one.
Make your voice heard. If you're not old enough to vote (I'm not), there are still plenty of ways to get involved (obviously, take a look at this website!). It's your future that's being decided next week, so put your time, money, and/or vote in the mix. Don't just complain pointlessly; complain to the ballot box. Obviously, I'd prefer if you're casting your ballot for Barack Obama, but, in all honesty, I'm just happy when people decide to vote at all, because so few people take advantage of it.
*Statistics from the United States Election Project at George Mason University.
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