Why does my vote matter? My vote matters voting for how i want to be elected. If you don’t vote, you can’t complain and we’re all pretty good at complaining. Do you feel strongly about taxes, your health care or the size of our military? If these or other issues matter to you, then your vote matters, too. If you don’t head to the polls or send in your absentee ballot, you don’t get to yell at the TV later on.
If millions of people stay home because they think their votes don’t count, the people who do turn out to vote become much more powerful. Are their voices really more important than yours? Your vote is your voice. Elect to be heard. Elected officials make decisions about many things that affect you, including military benefits. It’s your your voice heard.
Vote ratios matter. Even if you live in a state that swings one way or another, the ratio by which the candidates win or lose matters. A landslide win makes for a more powerful politician than one who barely squeaks by. Your vote can either help keep that power in check or give it an extra boost. It’s easy to get discouraged about voting if you listen to the media’s predictions. But if you’re old enough to vote, you’re old enough to know the media can get things wrong.
This is a huge problem. We are talking about nearly half of our eligible voting population consistently choosing not to vote, even though they literally have the ability to determine who will run our nation. It’s time we change that.
I sincerely believe every single voting-aged American should vote and by the end of this article, you will too.For the longest time, I had no idea how the presidential election works. Recent research suggests that I’m not alone. Simply explained, there are 50 states in the United States. Each state is divided up into congressional districts that are based on population. The more populated the state, the more districts it has. For example, California, which has a population of 38.8 million people, has 53 districts while Kansas, which has a population of 2.9 million people, has only 4 districts.
This influence is represented by the state’s electors, more formally known as the Electoral College. The number of electors a state has is determined by its number of districts plus the two U.S. senators of that state. So California has 55 electors (53 districts plus 2 senators) while Kansas has 6 electors (4 districts plus 2 senators). When a candidate wins the voting in a state, they win that state’s electors, which is why “big” more populated states are so important to presidential candidates. If you add up the electors in all of the states and the District of Columbia, you get 538 electors. In order to win the presidency, a candidate must win 270 electors. And this all happens with your vote.
The biggest reason why Americans choose not to vote comes down to simply feeling powerless. However, the fact of the matter is this: your vote matters a lot. Yes, it’s true that the Electoral College elects the president, but never forget that it is us, the American people, that decide who the Electoral College MUST support. For example, if you live in the State of California and the majority of the people in your state choose to vote for Senator Bernie Sanders, then he will win your state’s 55 electoral votes. That’s over 20 percent of the electoral votes he needs to win the presidency. It’s as simple as that. And it all started with your vote. The second biggest reason why Americans choose not to vote comes down to the belief that their state will inevitably support a specific party. If I am a Democrat, why should I bother to vote when I know my state of Texas will definitely support a Republican? In the 40 non-swing states, this is a very common question. However, you must understand this: A state only swings to one party, because the majority of people WHO VOTED support that specific party. This “inevitableness” can definitely be countered by your vote.
Never let the term “minority” make you think the vote of your ethnic group is insignificant. It is rather, your most powerful political tool. For example, take a look at Muslim voters. Muslim Americans make up less than one percent of the U.S. population, but experts say they could play a very significant role in presidential elections due to their concentration in key states like Florida where Bush won by just 537 votes in 2000. The minority vote is incredibly powerful, never doubt that for a second. Find the candidate you believe best supports the interests of your demographic and encourage all those in your communities to support them. You’d be amazed by the difference this will make.
Your vote matters. It really does. I can talk about how millions of Americans died so that we can live in a nation of democracy and freedom, but this is not about giving you a history lesson. This is about reminding you that your vote is your voice, that your vote is your tool of political empowerment, and that change in this nation can best be brought about through your vote. There are several primaries coming up and you have the opportunity to decide who you want to be president, all you have to do is vote.
