By Jamie Parker | News Editor
Every four years, The United States of America goes through the election process to inaugurate a new President. Most foreigners expect that since Americans are born with the right to help make this decision, that every eligible man and woman would. But in the past four elections, only an average of 58.6% of eligible Americans turned out to the polls. Now the funny thing about this, is that most people who decide not to vote, think it’s because their vote doesn’t matter. That, or they don’t know enough about politics to make an educated decision. But in fact, your vote does count. And it is very important that you, as a citizen take advantage of our most democratic right.
So when it comes to your vote not mattering, one could see how that would be discouraging to a young adult, or newly registered voter who just wants their voice to be heard. But take a look at some of these numbers. The population in America in 2012 was about 314,000,000 people. Out of that, only about 219,000,000 people were eligible to vote. And you may be thinking to yourself, “well that’s not too bad!” But I’m not done. Of that vast amount of people, only 57.5% of the eligible people voted. That means out of the 314,000,000 people, only 125,000,000 people actually voted. Compared to the total population of America, that is a disturbingly low number. If we could get that number up to what some other first-world countries have in their voter turnout, elections could swing in a very different direction. It is vital, that children are brought up with the ideal that their voices must be heard, and the proper way to make sure that happens, is to get out there and vote as soon as they are eligible. That way, our great country will have an entire generation of young adults, who register to vote as soon as they turn 18, and can actually make a change in this country. We should be able to get this country to 80% voter turnout, just like the rest of the free world.
So not only does your vote matter, but what 42.5% of our countries eligible voting population seems to have forgotten is, just how lucky we are to have the luxury of voting. The United States was founded on the idea of the people having proper representation when it comes to the future of this great nation. Over the years many men, and women have fought and died for all of their countrymen to maintain that right. There are still so many countries out there where citizens cannot, or have very limited voting rights. For instance, in some countries women are still unable to vote, and in others the citizens are threatened to vote for certain people so nothing ever really changes. As an American, we are very privileged to fearlessly, and freely go out to the polls to let our voices be heard.
To sum up, your vote does matter. Every eligible person in this country got out to the polls, there could be some real change in the decisions made. Not only that, but it is your democratic responsibility to take advantage of one of the most basic American rights you have. So if you’re not registered to vote, get out there and register. Unfortunately, it is too late to vote in any of the presidential primaries, but you can still vote in other crucial elections that are coming up. Let your voice be heard, and don’t forget to encourage those around you to get out there to vote too.
Comments are closed.