Election day is fast approaching. With the increase in polarization between our primary political parties, many people have adopted a dim view of participating in the process. The importance of voting seems to be lost upon those who view the entire political process with contempt. If I may, following are some views I have come across to which I would offer an alternate viewpoint.
"I just don't feel like there is a candidate that represents my beliefs."
I say this with real respect and understanding for your position, it's not about you. We don't (or at least should not) vote in order to get our positions at the top of the list. It's about all of us. Those who we elect are going to make decisions that affect the homeless, veterans, cancer patients, the wealthy, blue collar workers, artists, doctors, and the list just goes on. Many of these groups may not touch your life directly, but they impact the communities we live in, our culture, and our shared values.
"I don't feel like my vote counts."
It is true that you are just one of millions when you vote and that can certainly make one feel insignificant. However, if you don't vote, it counts even less. If you do vote, you join with your neighbors, coworkers, family, friends, and the rest of the country in setting the direction, even if only a small amount. In addition, during my time spent in county government, I participated in the vote counting process. I've seen a number of elections where the margin was just a few votes. You may end up being one of just a few that launch a future, well-known leader into a political career.
"It's all just a corrupt bunch of people in Washington or (insert your state capital here)."
To be sure there is a lot of corruption, and if not corruption, certainly a lot of self-serving behavior. Let's have a little thought experiment: Jim believes that politicians are corrupt and he chooses not to vote because of this. Jim's viewpoint implies that he believes his behavior is more acceptable than that of the corrupt politicians. It would be a conflict for Jim to see himself as more corrupt yet at the same time apply that label to others. Now if all the people like Jim refuse to vote for the same reason, the people who do vote, don't oppose the corruption? When we don't vote because we don't want to support a system filled with corruption, we end up promoting that same corruption.
"There's plenty of time. There's an election at least every two years."
In fact, there is not plenty of time. One of the interesting side effects of living in large communities is that change tends to be slow. We often want this thing or that thing in society to change right away. However, slow change is useful in that it gives society time to make incremental change, evaluate the results, and do a course correction before we go too far. The decisions made by politicians today will have effects that will last for years or may take years to realize. Consider the potential longevity of members of Congress or the Supreme Court. Individuals in these bodies are often in their positions for years. The decisions made elected officials today will affect your future and your children even if you don't have any yet.
"I don't have time. It's too inconvenient."
I completely agree! It is too inconvenient. There are initiatives to make voting easier; things like making election day a national holiday and moving it to warmer months. But for these initiatives to take hold, decisions have to be made and those decisions are made by elected officials; the people we vote for. If you don't vote, if you don't take this concern to our policy leaders, it will never change.
"Elections are rigged."
We've heard a lot about this lately. Now that some of the dust has settled on the 2016 election where this claim was thrown around so often, take a moment to look back at the results of the 'rigged election' claims. How many have actually resulted in criminal investigations that have found wrong doing? A Heritage Foundation study tracking voter fraud identifies 1088 instances with 949 criminal convictions. That seems like a lot, but reading the report gives some interesting insights. The vast majority are for local (City/County/Township) elections. Almost all impact a small number of ballots (relative to the number of total ballots cast). In many of the cases, the proven instance is a single person who committed fraud for only their own vote. Generally, the margin that a race is won by is substantially larger than the number of questioned ballots, meaning that the fraud had no impact on the outcome of the race. Finally, in every single allegation of 'millions of fraudulent ballots' being cast, no evidence was produced to support the claim. Many people got their names in the headlines, but no reliable evidence has turned up.
Wrapping it Up
Having the ability to vote carries with it much more impact than just trying to get one's candidate in office. It is one of the few ways that most Americans can directly participate in the how this country is run. When we all vote, it sends a message to those in office that we are interested and we are watching. We are taking action against those that fail to live up to their responsibility as an elected leader. It can benefit you, but it does benefit all of us. Please consider taking a few minutes to learn just a little about those running, head out to the polls, and cast a ballot for the one you think is the better candidate. We may not get the best one for the job every time, but if we keep electing the better candidate year after year, we will get there, and many of these concerns above will start to fade away.
