Is the upcoming election stressing you out? Lets admit it, it’s easier to just tune it out and hope for the best.
But here’s the thing; America only works if you do.
The freedoms and protections we enjoy today are ours because people cared enough to vote. The political process in the United States allows us to have a say in every issue we face.
Yet we’ve become complacent, we’re so accustomed to a free and just society that we just assume it will always be that way. This way of thinking can lead us down a dangerous path.
According to the U.S Census Bureau: Voting and Registration, there are 218,959,000 eligible voters in the United States. But only 146,311,000 are registered to do so. That means only 67% of people eligible to vote are doing so. And only 57% voted in the 2012 presidential election!
Here’s the most disappointing statistic: Utah has the lowest voter turn out in the nation. The reasons we have for not voting are weak at best: we’re “too busy” or simply “not interested.” Yet we hear people complaining about what’s happening in American Politics all the time, and only half of those people are even voting. Nothing will change if we’re too lazy to participate in our own government. If you don’t like things, you must take steps to change it. And we can change it!
Take the time to get to know the candidates, not just the presidential ones, but also your local representatives, because change starts at the local level.
Don’t know how to vote? Don’t know who the candidates are? Or what they represent? Well you’re in luck, because we’ve got some amazing sources right here for you!
Check out the website isidewith.com this is a great source to figure out which presidential candidate best represent your views. It’s quiz based, so it’s actually pretty fun.
Don’t remember if you’re registered? Head over to vote.utah.gov and enter your information. From there you can change party affiliation, view your precinct, see your elected officials, and even view profiles for each candidate.
Need to register? You can do so online or in person at the County Clerk’s Office up to seven days before the election!
We’re so fortunate to live in a free society; to be able chose what we want to do with our lives. More than half the countries on Earth don’t have free elections. While the world tries to catch up to the system we’ve been enjoying for hundreds of years; voters in developing nations literally risk their lives for a chance to participate in elections. In 2014 voter turn out in Afghanistan was about the same as voter turn out in the 2012 US elections. Afghans faced certain danger to make their voices heard. We can certainly make a trip to our local polling center to do the same.
Many will say “but my vote doesn’t matter” and those people couldn’t be more wrong. If your vote doesn’t matter, why do Politicians spend millions on election campaigns? Every vote counts, every vote is valuable!
So lets do this thing! Lets turn out! It doesn’t matter what your party affiliation is, just get out there and participate in your government. Make your voice heard. Exercise your hard-earned right to representation.
Let’s change the statistics; let’s take Utah from the lowest voter turn out, to the highest!
