Hi guys,
I know it's been a while since I’ve been on here, what can I say it’s been a ROUGH year!
But, I interrupt my hiatus with a very important PSA: VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!
I know that we’re all tired of “politics”. We’re almost as tired of hearing about the presidential candidates as we are of hearing about coronavirus (almost!). But I’m here to tell you one more time why voting is more than a civic duty, but a necessity with human lives and well-being on the line.
First things first, if you think your vote doesn’t matter, you’re wrong. Sure, your voice is one in millions but that’s the thing! There are millions of us. When joined with enough others, your vote undoubtedly has an impact on electoral results.* Consider one of the closest presidential races in history, Al Gore v. George W. Bush. The entire election came down to a recount in ONE state. What was the state you ask? Florida. Bush won the popular vote by such a small margin that it automatically triggered a recount and a Supreme Court case! The margin by which Bush won Florida was 0.009% *
Your vote counts.
Secondly, we have to vote for the system to work. Do you like living in a free country? In a democracy? Do you like having the ability to vote even if you don’t exercise it? Louis L’ Amour said it best, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers.”* Would you want to be a bystander to your life, sitting by and observing what happens to you without having a say? No. So, don’t be a bystander now. There are people in other countries dying (yes, literally dying) while fighting for the right to vote. You neglecting yours... well all I have to say is that your privilege is showing.
Finally, many people assume that they're just voting for a president - you’re voting for much more than that. We get to vote for representatives in all 3 branches of government - executive, legislative, and judicial. It’s also true that millions of dollars flow from the federal government to state and local bodies, so if you care about good schools, crime prevention, clean air and water - you’d best be voting for people who represent your interests.*
Although I could use this opportunity to ‘get political’, I won’t. I won’t tell you who or what to vote for. But I will leave a list of resources below to make sure you’re registered and ready. Let’s do this America!
TEXT: "Voter" to 26797 to check your voter registration status
VISIT: https://vote.gov/
REQUEST A MAIL IN BALLOT (for my FL peeps): https://dos.myflorida.com/elections/for-voters/voting/vote-by-mail/
*Sources:
Comments