Not Voting Isn’t the Political Power Move You Think It Is
Giving up your vote is giving up your voice.
Written by Katie Teas
The 2020 United States presidential election is in full swing as citizens across the country rush to polling booths or slap stamps on mail-in ballots in preparation for the upcoming Nov. 3 count. The two major players, Democratic nominee Joe Biden and Republican incumbent President Donald Trump, will continue campaigning until the bitter end -- and bitter doesn’t even begin to describe the relationship between the competitors and their parties.
This year’s upcoming election is unprecedented for a number of reasons. This is mostly due to the undeniable reality that we are living in unprecedented times. Though unemployment has dropped from a record-breaking 14.7% in April, the current figure of 7.9% is still higher than the average of the last 60 years. While under mass worldwide scrutiny for our government’s controversial handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the US has seen 8.8 million COVID-19 cases and over 227,000 deaths. Cities have all but fallen as millions of protesters hit the streets in protest of police brutality, with Black Lives Matter estimated to be the largest movement in US history.
The frontrunning candidates themselves contribute to the uniqueness of the 2020 election as well. Trump made history as the oldest president to date following his victory in 2016; either candidate will break that record in 2020. If reelected, Trump will also become the only US president in history to win a reelection following impeachment.
It’s safe to say that we’ve watched the scope of our nation massively change under the current administration. In a 2019 survey, 58% of Americans indicated that race relations in the US are generally bad; 56% also noted believing that Trump in office has made race relations worse. With newly sworn in Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett replacing the late Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, many fear an impending overturn of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision to protect women’s right to choose to terminate a pregnancy.
There is no doubt that the 2020 US presidential election is important; arguably, the most important election that this nation has ever seen. That is why it is crucial that every legal American exercise their right to vote come Nov. 3.
Historically, the 18-29 age demographic has failed to show up to the polls. This might be related to a feeling of one’s vote not making a difference, especially in unwaveringly partied states (thanks, Electoral College). The 2016 election also brought an air of voting for the lesser of two evils, a notion that the increasingly politically engaged and polarized American youth despise; unfortunately, those same thoughts have been echoed throughout the 2020 election.
At the end of the day, your vote is your voice. Regardless of protests and petitions, voting is the only concrete constitutional vessel that allows every legal American citizen to take part in making a change. In a year when so much is riding on this single election, every vote counts. Nearly 40% of the applicable population failed to vote in 2016; that percentage could have single handedly swayed the entire election.
Whether you love one candidate and can’t stand the other, feel lukewarm about both or can barely bring yourself to say either name out loud, vote. It’s your right, your duty, your voice. If you want to see a change in your country, vote. If you want to have a say in the terms of the nation where you will see your children grow up, vote.
If you care at all, vote.
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