Voter Responsibility
Have you ever called a friend from the voting booth to ask whom you should vote for? Or have you ever voted for someone because that person’s name sounded better than the other candidate’s? Have you ever voted on a ballot proposal having no idea what it was asking? If you have done any of these things you are not alone. We lead busy lives and it is difficult to take the time to inform ourselves on the issues. But voting without being informed not only hurts you, it hurts our society.
If you are voting, it is your duty as a citizen to be informed.
In America, when we turn 18, we are legally eligible to vote. Voter registration initiatives often target young voters by setting up tables on college campuses and in other locations frequented by young adults. In school we are told it is our right to vote for the leaders who will represent us, and it is our right to vote on proposals that will affect us. This is all true, but these aren’t high school student council elections. This is the big time. And with the right to vote comes the duty to understand the issues.
The incompetence of the current federal government administration has inspired many people who have never been active in politics to get involved. Having not been well informed in the past, I am ashamed to admit that I have committed two of the three voting sins listed above. I will never be an uninformed voter again.
Leading up to the November 2022 election, I spent many hours participating in campaign door knocking. I learned that the vast majority of citizens know who the candidates are for president, vice-president, and governor, but know little to nothing about the rest of the ballot. I can’t tell you how many times I had this conversation while door knocking:
Me: “Hi. I’m knocking on doors today for school board candidates who will be on your ballot in November.”
Homeowner: “Oh, well I already voted.”
Me: “Okay, I hope you voted for candidates XXXX.”
Homeowner: “I’m not really sure. I didn’t know anything about them so I just picked randomly.”
Me: "What????!!!!!!!!!!!!..................”
No, I didn’t scream and get upset, but I was disappointed. During the last week before Election Day, the above conversation took place at approximately three out of every ten houses. I began to realize that we as citizens have a warped view of voting. In my opinion, nobody should vote who is not informed. This is like guessing the correct answer on a test, but the penalty for being wrong is much higher. The outcome affects not only the test taker but the entire community. Tyranny, government corruption, and the creation of laws and policies that don’t make sense are possible consequences. Negligent voting needs to stop. Together we can transform this mindset.
Let’s change the paradigm from, “It is your responsibility to vote” to “IF YOU ARE GOING TO VOTE, IT IS YOUR DUTY TO BE INFORMED.”