The Value of Voting

I went to class on Wednesday, Nov. 5 and heard a lot of people complaining about the election results. Then I heard a phrase I wish I hadn’t.

“I have no right to complain, though, because I didn’t vote.”

Now, I’m glad this person realized they shouldn’t complain about the results because they didn’t voice their opinion, but overall, I wish more people had taken initiative to exercise this born right.

We should take advantage of voting. We get the chance to make an impact on our city, state and country. That’s pretty cool, right?

The opinion of people our age is completely different than that of those who are older, and voting can help us bridge that gap and compromise.

An uneducated vote is just as bad, if not worse, than not voting. Do your homework, people. What happens in each election will effect you, your family and your friends.

I don’t get as much time to watch the news as I used to and I felt like I had no idea what was happening leading up to the election – but I didn’t use that as an excuse.

Like uneducated voting, not voting because it isn’t “convenient” should no longer be an acceptable answer, either.

I used an absentee ballot because I knew I wouldn’t have time to drive home on Election Day. This gave me time to look up everything on the ballot and do my research. I sat in front of my computer after class one day and spent a few hours looking every candidate and bill up that was on the ballot. Yes, I had homework I should’ve been doing, but I found it important to have my voice heard.

What I’m afraid of is that our generation doesn’t care about voting. We all have opinions that we want to be heard, but we can’t seem to find the time to get to the polls to make that happen.

I’ve read multiple articles about people our age not voting because they don’t know about the politicians, can’t make it home to vote or think their vote won’t matter.

The truth of the matter is that one vote can make a huge difference, and more people should realize that.

I hope that during the next election I hear more people saying, “I voted” as opposed to the more common statement, “I wish I would have voted.”