Why Your Vote Matters
- We Unite
- Jul 4, 2020
- 2 min read
The elections are coming up, yet so many people still choose not to vote. Continue reading to find out why that is!
A Bit of Background
At the age of 16, I had the opportunity of working in a political campaign and it was a really eye-opening experience. My responsibility in this campaign was to make sure registered voters were aware of the upcoming election, and to speak to them about issues they are concerned about- and what candidates are doing to ensure citizens have a representative who will direct their needs.
I can still clearly remember one encounter I had on the phone with a sweet woman who didn’t speak much English. As with every person I was following up with information about absentee ballots and in-person voting. The woman I was speaking with said that she couldn’t understand English, so I tried to explain to her why I was calling to the best of my ability. She said how Election Day is very important and proceeded to communicate changes she would like to see potential representatives enforce.
This goes to show that voting is a way to voice what you want to see be enforced - despite your background. Voting is your chance to stand up for the issues you care about such as public transportation, raising the minimum wage, or increasing funding for education. Additionally, voting enables you to choose where you want your tax money to go - this includes health care and social services.
Putting all of this into Perspective
I couldn’t help, but to continue wondering why many people choose not to vote even when they are eligible to do so. I quickly found that many people don’t vote because they believed that their vote didn’t matter. Consider some of the closest elections in U.S. history: Al Gore narrowly lost the Electoral College (assigns a number of representatives votes per state) to George W. Bush in 2000. Bush won by a small margin, which resulted in an automatic recount of votes. Ultimately, Bush won Florida by 0.009 percent of the votes cast, which is 537 votes (National Geographic, 2020). The presidential outcome would have been completely different had more 600 pro-Gore voters gone to the polls in Florida. Your vote - your voice is power - and an opportunity for change.
Use your voice, vote, vote for those who will be representing your city, state, and Country.
Register to Vote: https://vote.gov/
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