A Final Plea To Those Who Don’t Find It Necessary To Vote Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Election Day in the United States! I know a considerable amount of people don’t feel that the midterms matter or that one vote will make a difference. I don’t care whom you vote for, just that you get out there and vote for someone who matters to you.

Check out I Side With if your main reason for not wanting to vote is because you’re unsure of whom exactly to vote for. I know those political campaign commercials on TV make you want to steer clear of voting booths for the rest of eternity, but this website will help you determine where you fall with some of the biggest candidates and where you stand in terms of a political party.

If you’re still feeling like the midterms don’t matter, check out this nifty little guide from theSkimm. They’ve done a pretty great job at summing up this year’s election. “This year’s election is about nothing and everything. There is no defining issue driving the nation to the polls, but a laundry list of things on voters’ minds.”

I was speaking to a friend awhile back who told me she would give her right to vote to someone else if she could because she didn’t care as much as others seem to. This one comment really bothered me and I came across several of my peers having the same blasé response to Election Day. (Along with, “It’s time to vote for a new president again?” which just makes me want to scream from rooftops.)

Think of all the people who have gotten our country to this point of allowing people of all races and sex to vote. The 15^th amendment in 1870 (prohibiting the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude), the 19^th amendment in 1920 (prohibiting the denial of the right to vote based on sex), the 24^th amendment in 1964 (prohibiting a poll tax), the 26^th amendment in 1971 (making it legal for citizens 18 years or older to vote). Most of these amendments have taken place within the past 100 years. Think about your great-grandparents, grandparents and parents fighting for you and your children to have the right to vote. I still remember one of my high school teachers discussing being an advocate for the 26^th amendment when he was in college and being disheartened by the lack of care from younger generations.

Though there are plenty of us who are adamant about voting, there is still a large percentage that needs to be encouraged to take an active stance in politics. You don’t have to know every single issue, but you need to know what you care about seeing changed most in this country and you need to go vote for someone who agrees with your views. Don’t simply vote for someone because he/she is the same race or gender as you or because he/she is the person your parents are voting for (or not voting for). Be the independent, educated individual that those before you hoped you would be. Be proud of the fact that you live in a country that allows you the opportunity to vote. There are several countries in this world with citizens who are risking their lives to have the same voting opportunities we have.

When you’re feeling unmotivated tomorrow, think of Leslie Knope’s ridiculously motivating words to get you to the polling booth. GET OUT AND VOTE!