Laura Merrell
Please vote. I know that the period for voter registration is over, but for those that are registered, seriously, please follow through and vote. I’ve heard the argument that ‘my vote doesn’t really matter’, but if the majority of the American public held that belief, we would be in big trouble. How can the wheels of democracy keep turning if Americans don’t see the value of helping decide who governs our country? At the very least, your vote will cancel out someone else’s that you don’t agree with.
The importance of voting is undeniable. In the very close 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, approximately 500 votes in Florida decided the election (as well as a 5-4 Supreme Court decision, but I won’t get into that). You never know, but in close elections, you can have a deciding vote. Although the College of Wooster has students from a variety of states, 35 percent reside in Ohio. Since Ohio is a swing state, that’s just another reason to make your vote matter.
While believing a single vote doesn’t count is ridiculous to me, I can understand the concern about the convenience of voting as a full time college student. I won’t be voting in Ohio, since I’m from Washington State and am already registered there. In Washington, everyone votes by mail, which is very convenient for me as a busy student. I can vote at my leisure, simply get a stamp and mail my ballot in. However, in Ohio, absentee voting requires mailing in a form by a certain number of days before the election.
I have never voted at a poll myself, but I can imagine that the wait could be daunting and off -putting for many. Hours of waiting at a polling site with a paper due or a test the next day is a ‘creative’ reason in favor of foregoing voting. But this election decides the president we all have to live with for the next four years.
Among the American public, and more specifically among students on our own campus, there are varying degrees of how closely people follow the election. This should not act as a deterrent for voting. If you have an opinion about who you would like to run our country, then go vote. Your vote is no less worthy than others’. Citizens above the age of 18, who meet all eligible voter requirements, are equally entitled to partake in choosing our president. Just because you haven’t memorized Mitt’s “Five Point Plan” or the President’s “Plan for an Economy Built to Last” doesn’t mean you should hide out during the election and stay silent.
On our campus, there are constant reminders of the election, although they may not all be positive reminders. For the unsure or tentative voter, the people badgering us about voting in Lowry could be more of an annoyance than a motivator. In the YouTube ads and during the recent presidential debates, a common theme was that the younger generation of voters, our generation, would be stuck with the debt and the decisions that arise from this election. Instead of getting stuck with other peoples’ decisions, make an effort to contribute to the decision of who should be in charge for the next four years.