VOTE: The Importance Of Voting In This Upcoming Election

November 5th, 2024. Election day. For most, it’s a day full of a plethora of emotions. Excitement, anxiety, uncertainty, you name it. However, for some, election day will come and go just like any other day. For others, election day has always been just another day in November. With tensions rising high, and two candidates that couldn’t be more polarizing, individuals whose ideologies lie in the middle feel political efficacy now more than ever. However, exercising your right to vote has become more important than ever to help save our democracy.

The United States is unique in a way where individuals are able and free to express opinions publicly. While the reaction to opinions is sometimes out of one’s hands, the power to elect someone who aligns with those opinions is. 

Voting is your chance to stand up for policies and issues you care about. Both Vice President Harris and President Trump are in an extremely tight race that will likely come down to the votes of one of the swing states. Therefore, you must cast your vote in this election.

While voting for your preferred candidate might seem meaningless in past elections, studies have shown that this year it will come down to voter turnout. According to CNN, Vice President Harris and President Trump are currently running at 48% for Harris and 47% for Trump. Those percentages are taken out of likely voters. Yet, there are still too many individuals who feel like their vote won’t make a difference.

It will.

Voting for your candidate affects your everyday life. You get a say in policies that answer questions such as: how much money will go to local schools? How will your access to healthcare be affected? What will the policy be on firearms? Where will your tax dollars go? These are all questions that Americans have to face every single day. By going to the polls on November 5th, you are letting your voice be heard. You get the chance to be proud you put your name behind a candidate you believe will represent this country with honor and passion. 

In the 2020 election, according to an article written by Hannah Hartig, Andrew Daniller, Scott Keeter, and Ted Van green at the Pew Research Center, the voter turnout was higher than it has ever been, coming in at 66% of the population. While that might seem high, there is still a staggering amount of Americans not voting, one-third to be exact, which translates to roughly 80 million people. That’s 80 million people who are not voting for the person who is going to lead and represent the United States. That seems wrong, right?

In past elections, sometimes the candidate with the most popular vote amongst the people has not won due to the electoral college. Take for instance 2016, when Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by a comfortable margin, however, when it all came down to the electoral college in swing states, Donald Trump came out on top. This is a major concern for some individuals, and rightfully so; it does not seem fair. However, voting is still crucial because even with the Electoral College, individual votes directly determine what candidate wins each state. If a state has a high voter turnout, it will swing the swing states.

While it might seem like a throw-away point, it is worth noting that people fought for the right to vote. There was a time when the only people who could vote were old white men. Voting was once looked at as the prize possession for an American. This right should not be disregarded and taken advantage of when Americans have fought so hard to have it protected. 

To conclude, this election is possibly the most important one of our generation. We have two candidates who both represent such far different ideals. While neither of the candidates is perfect by any standard, one is focused on pushing our nation further and listening and securing the rights of the American people, while the other, to put it lightly, might land in jail soon. The power lies in our hands, it is our duty to elect the right candidate to lead our country with dignity and strength for the next four years. Vote! Vote! Vote! 

By: Harrison Mullin