The day on which we pick our new president is less than a month away at this point and I am personally wondering how many voters will actually go to the polls this year. I am not a big fan of our choices, however, I will still get my rear end to the voting center and cast my ballot for one of the two contenders. I am still undecided at this point as to who I will vote for, but I know one thing, I will vote. What I find alarming in some respects is the amount of apathy that a good number of people have towards voting in general. I have heard every excuse from "my vote doesn't really matter", to "I hate politics", to "I just don't care". Regardless of how much or how little every vote matters, we have the privilege of helping to pick who will run our country for the next four years. There are many countries in this world where public voting is either a farce or non-existent. We should consider ourselves lucky to have the opportunity to participate in the democratic process. Do I think that the process is always fair? Absolutely not. Do I think the whole process to become a candidate for president is fair? Definitely not. Despite my dissatisfaction with certain aspects of our electoral process, the only way to effect change is to get out, vote, and make your voice heard. If everyone in this country sat back on their laurels and simply waited to see what would happen, our country could spiral in directions that would probably surprise most people. I don't want to see that happen to our country and as such, I will be voting in November. Perhaps what surprises me most about those that decide not to vote or don't even know when they should vote, is the absolute apathy exhibited. Granted, the last few presidential elections have seen voter turnout over 50%, but that is far from where it should be to accurately depict the general feelings people have about our government and the way its running.
This morning I decided to see exactly what the percentage was for the last presidential election. (The info I am relaying can be found by following this link here!) The last presidential election saw a voter turnout of 56.8% of the eligible voting population (132,618,580 out of 231,229,580). That was the highest percentage this country has seen come out for a presidential election since 1968 which saw 60.8% of the eligible voting population come out (73,211,875 out of 120,328,186). For whatever reason, there is a good percentage of the population that either can't make it out to vote, isn't registered to vote, or doesn't care enough to. I hope this year we are able to break the 60% mark for voter turnout, yet, I have my doubts. Now, let me pose a mostly rhetorical question; who truly has the power in this country? Is it the president or the Congress? While the president has the overall say, suggests policy moves, can accept or veto any legislation brought to him by Congress, it is the Congressional body that does a good part of the work as it relates to our personal lives. Yet, in non-presidential election years, we haven't risen above 40% since 1970. While these other voting years aren't as important as the presidential election, they are very important in their own right. I have heard a very large number of people say that they will vote every one of the cronies currently in congress out, yet with not even 40% of the people turning out to vote during these years, "voting these cronies" out won't happen. Has it really been 40 years since people cared in this country? Our population has greatly increased, yet our voter turnout has decreased. There is obviously something wrong with our system when nearly a hundred million people can't find their way to a polling station to vote. There are solutions, but it will take time to turn things around.
Perhaps the first and best option to increase voter turnout is education. It seems to me that we need to spend more time educating people on the necessity of voting and how if we don't vote, things could go in a direction that is displeasing for all of us. I don't want to simply get people out to vote, I want educated voters at the polling stations. There is nothing worse than someone who has no idea what the issues at stake are or who is actually running for office. These voters are a detriment to the system and I would rather see them stay home than just come to vote in attempt to raise the percentage of people voting. We can't just focus on educating the young students in school on the importance of voting. What we need to do is also focus on the immigrants in this country and ensuring that they know how important it is that they vote as well. Everyone who is a citizen above the age of 18 has the right to vote (excluding convicted felons). Yet, I consider voting more of a duty than a right. While we have the choice to vote or not to vote, we should all consider it a duty. It is our duty to perpetuate freedom in this country and our right to voice our opinion and have a say in who will run our country. We too often take for granted our freedoms. If we continue to take these freedoms for granted, they could be stripped away. (Highly unlikely, but possible). So let us make an effort to talk to our friends, convince them to get out and vote, and lets make a difference for once. I know that every presidential election offers us the possibility to make a difference, but lets do it this year. Lets not wait for our freedoms to slowly disappear, lets take matters into our own hands and show the scum in Washington that the citizens of the United States mean business.
Perhaps the first and best option to increase voter turnout is education. It seems to me that we need to spend more time educating people on the necessity of voting and how if we don't vote, things could go in a direction that is displeasing for all of us. I don't want to simply get people out to vote, I want educated voters at the polling stations. There is nothing worse than someone who has no idea what the issues at stake are or who is actually running for office. These voters are a detriment to the system and I would rather see them stay home than just come to vote in attempt to raise the percentage of people voting. We can't just focus on educating the young students in school on the importance of voting. What we need to do is also focus on the immigrants in this country and ensuring that they know how important it is that they vote as well. Everyone who is a citizen above the age of 18 has the right to vote (excluding convicted felons). Yet, I consider voting more of a duty than a right. While we have the choice to vote or not to vote, we should all consider it a duty. It is our duty to perpetuate freedom in this country and our right to voice our opinion and have a say in who will run our country. We too often take for granted our freedoms. If we continue to take these freedoms for granted, they could be stripped away. (Highly unlikely, but possible). So let us make an effort to talk to our friends, convince them to get out and vote, and lets make a difference for once. I know that every presidential election offers us the possibility to make a difference, but lets do it this year. Lets not wait for our freedoms to slowly disappear, lets take matters into our own hands and show the scum in Washington that the citizens of the United States mean business.
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