Why You Should Vote

You should be voting, every time you can, in every election you can.

The simple answer is: it changes a lot when you actually do.

The hard part: Proving that to you.

There is such a huge stigma around voting. Some people just don’t believe in it, and think that the entire process is rigged, front to back, and therefore doesn’t matter, because in the long run, nothing changes.

There are others who don’t believe in anything beyond state elections, because once you get up that high, all politicians have the same agenda, they just spin it differently to us, which in some ways, is true.

But, people protested to have their right to vote in the first place. Protested in the same way that countries are protesting the murder of George Floyd, Breona Taylor, and Amhaud Arbery.

Point 1: People Died/protested/marched For Your Right to Vote

“On 2 January 1965, King and SCLC joined SNCC, the Dallas County Voters League, and other local African American activists in a voting rights campaign in Selma where, in spite of repeated registration attempts by local blacks, only two percent were on the voting rolls. SCLC had chosen to focus its efforts in Selma because they anticipated that the notorious brutality of local law enforcement under Sheriff Jim Clark would attract national attention and pressure President Lyndon B. Johnson and Congress to enact new national voting rights legislation.” - Selma to Montgomery March

While the January version of the protests were mostly peaceful, and ended with very little violence and arrests, the February events ended in a much different way. On February 18th, the Alabama State Troopers banded with the local police to break up a peaceful march in Marion, AL. As they broke up the march, a woman was being attacked by police with a baton, and a man named Jimmie Lee Jackson rushed to protect her. He was shot as he was protecting her, and died eight days later in the hospital. (Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?)

In response to that, two leaders of Southern committees fighting for justice for black people led a march in Selma. When they got to the Edmund Pettus Bridge, a blockade led by Sheriff Job Clark and Major John Cloud stops and attacked the protestors, cheered on by white onlookers. This event, which was televised (go figure), was called Bloody Sunday, and led Dr Martin Luther King himself to lead a march starting in Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in an attempt to gain the attention of the President. It worked, along with other actions, and on August 6th, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed. Dr King himself noted that, “Montgomery led to the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and 1960; Birmingham inspired the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and Selma produced the voting rights legislation of 1965”.

President Lyndon B. Johnson HIMSELF said this, “the right to vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.”

Point 2: Not Voting helps Your Adversaries

Voting, even when we were granted rights, was exponentially tougher, and designed for us as black people to be automatically disqualified through the use of poll tests. The questions were ridiculous questions like: “Spell backwards frontwards”, or “Print the word upside down but in the correct order.” WHAT?!?! Trump even thanked black voters for not showing up to the polls, clearing the way for him to win the election, saying this: “The African American community was great to us. If they had any doubt, they didn’t vote, and that was almost as good.” He is saying, because we didn’t like either one of the candidates, we decided not to vote, which cleared the path to his victory. The point is, when you don’t vote, you’re not only not helping to change/bring light to any of the issues that concern you, but you are allowing issues that do not concern/benefit you to take center stage, and remain more relevant than your issues. To get your issues addressed, especially in a country like this, you have to mention them, on every level. Vote for your city council, for your Mayor, your governor, your attorney general, and everybody else you can vote for, especially if you care about the issues your particular community is facing. Go to town hall meetings. Use hotlines. Write emails/letters. Do whatever you can to let the issues of your community be heard, and consistently going to these events will gain you notoriety and attention fo public figures, who will listen to those who consistently voice their concerns.

Think about it like this: You are in a car with three other people, and you are all hungry. Everybody is asked where they want to go, and everybody but you says where they want to eat. They then pick a place to go eat, and you didn’t want to go there. Because you didn’t lift your voice, you no longer have a say in where the group goes to eat, because you had your chance to affect the outcome. Now, apply that to voting. Not doing anything when you are aware of the problems helps no one, not even the people you want to protect. Not fighting for your rights is similar to allowing someone to overlook your rights. Not holding someone accountable for your rights is the same as letting them disrespect your rights as a whole. So, would you let someone disrespect you, and not speak up? See why you should be voting?

Point 3: The Electoral College Is Here To Help, Not Hurt

First, let me explain what the Electoral College is. Then I’ll let you know why

It was created during the times of the Constitution (which was not a good time to be black) and was created because the politicians of the time did not feel as though the average citizen was not smart enough to actually elect the President of the US, so they put in a system where voters vote for electors, that cast their votes on behalf of the people. Due to the system being broken in the Jefferson/Burr election, the rules for the Electoral College were expanded to its current format, which means that the amount of electors is equal to the number of the US citizens in the states, plus the number of US reps, which varies by state (hence why the census is so important.). When you vote for the President at the polls, what you are actually voting for is your elector, who votes based on the people. Why this is important is because the more people your state reports, the more representatives you get in the Electoral College, and the more votes can be given to your candidate of choice.

Question:

How did Donald Trump win the Presidency, but did not win the popular vote?

Answer: Because the states he won held more electoral votes than the states Hilary won, which meant that he might have won less states, but won states that held more representatives. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 2.8 million over Donald Trump, the largest margin by a presidential loser in U.S. history. But Trump won 306 electoral votes to Clinton's 232. He won all the Great Lakes states that traditionally vote Democrat, plus four big battleground states (including Florida and Michigan) by less than 1 percentage point [source: Ayres]. Clinton had bigger leads in fewer, but more populous states, like California. All candidates want to get to the magic number of 270 Electoral votes, which will give them the presidency. Swing states are what are most important, as they carry a large number of electoral votes that can “swing” the election. These are the Swing States for the 2020 election, colored in brown:

Question:

How are Electoral Representatives selected?

Answer: They are selected by individual state legislatures. Electors have to campaign the same way any elected official does, but they do not campaign to the public, but instead to other state officials that select them based on merit. The electoral candidate is nominated by his or her state party committee, and the decision of who wins the electoral position is normally decided at the state’s party convention. They are members of their respective party, and can be politicians, party officials, or anyone in the political arena. While there aren’t many guidelines concerning who can be elected, there ARE guidelines about who the candidate can not be: 1. they can not be a member of congress, 2. a high ranking U.S. official in a position of “trust or profit,” meaning they can not be expecting to accept a specific executive office, and 3. they can not be someone who engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the U.S.

Conclusion: You must vote in every election you can. If you don’t like a candidate’s ideals, stances, or goals, then don’t vote for him/her, and choose someone else. If you don’t like both, then pick the one with less faults, and pepper them with issues until they acknowledge the issues at hand, and state something about them. The absolute worst thing you can possibly do is not vote, because then, your voice is not being heard.