After reading iGov editorial on why we should vote, I thought about the same responses that I received from my friends as to why some of them would not vote. They ran down some of the same excuses that she stated. My personal favorite that she did not list was “I will go vote if that will shut you up.” My response was “Thank you.”
I agree that we should vote. Even if you live in a state that has gone one way or the other for years, if enough people decided that this is the time to change, then your vote will be important.
In this historic election several states did in fact change color. The electorial college only applys for the presidential contest, the other offices that you are voting on are on a straight popular vote count. The Minnesota Senate race is looking like it is coming down to a few hundred votes. So is Alaska, at the moment, the Democratic candidate is ahead by a FEW votes but “Alaska, determined to continue in its role as the vortex of all things politically strange, still hasn’t counted tens of thousands of ballots” (1) The state of Georgia is having a run off on its Senate set on December 2 this year as well.
There are other countries that face incredible hardships just to cast a ballot. For example, in the Southern African nation of Zimbabwe, there were reports of armed militias attacking sometimes killing political opponents. Also this type of political harassment included assaults, abductions and forced attendance at President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party rallies of the Zimbabwean citizens.
Americans tend not to turn out if the weather is bad, or if it inconveniences them in any way. If the lines are too long, i.e. would have to wait more than 10 minutes. My favorite excuse this year was that they did not know enough about the candidates. Pardon? How could you NOT know SOMETHING about the candidates? With the wealth of information out there on most all of the people running for office, I find that hard to believe.
Our democracy depends on an informed electorate that is our citizens being informed about public affairs. It does not take much to at least scan the paper, or go to a news web site or turn on the television to a news channel while getting dressed. This will at least keep you in the loop to what is going on. Go check out the League of Women Voters voter guide the morning of the election and read up on the candidates if nothing else. Just go and vote and thank your lucky stars, God, Allah, Buddha, Odin, Gluskab, Ehecatl, Bhagavan , Radha or that rock in your garden that you are able to vote freely.
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