Why should you vote in this election? Why should you take not even an hour of your time to drive (or walk) to your local polling place and cast your ballot. The answer is simple.The stakes are enormous.
Never in our lives, or in our parents lives, have the stakes been so high. There is way too much going on in our country that our kids will be learning about in their history books for us not to care. To all those people who don’t plan to vote in three weeks I ask why. Why don’t you care about your country? Why don’t you want to have a say in our government? Why don’t you want to choose your own leaders? There are many countries where the population doesn’t have the opportunity to vote. You have the opportunity here in America, and each and every single one of us needs to embrace it, regardless of political views.
By Chris Bruce
Photo Editor
Why should you vote in this election? Why should you take not even an hour of your time to drive (or walk) to your local polling place and cast your ballot. The answer is simple.The stakes are enormous.
Never in our lives, or in our parents lives, have the stakes been so high. There is way too much going on in our country that our kids will be learning about in their history books for us not to care. To all those people who don’t plan to vote in three weeks I ask why. Why don’t you care about your country? Why don’t you want to have a say in our government? Why don’t you want to choose your own leaders? There are many countries where the population doesn’t have the opportunity to vote. You have the opportunity here in America, and each and every single one of us needs to embrace it, regardless of political views.
Sadly for most of us, it’s too late to register, but if you are already registered, you may still be able to request an absentee ballot. In Pennsylvania, the last day to request an absentee ballot is October 28th. If you want the specific deadlines for your state, check out your local board of elections website.
Even though we don’t directly pick our president, (the electoral college does,) most of the states we live in will decide this election. So if you think your vote is not important, you are wrong. No matter how your state has swung in the past, in this election, each and every single one counts, and who knows? The one vote in your voting precinct may just decide who wins your state, and if you’re from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, or any other of those battleground states, that single vote could decide who is inaugurated on January 20th.
If you even care about any of the issues challenging our country today: the economy, the war in Iraq, heath care, education, equal rights, the size of government, if you care about a single one of these issues, you need to vote, even if you think your vote is not going to “count.” For all those still to make up their minds, I encourage you to check out the websites of the presidential candidates, read about their stances on the issues you care about, and make the choice to vote on November 4th.
The stakes are just too large not to care. It’s your country, and it’s up to you to choose its direction for the next four years.