My father taught me it is the job of every U.S. citizen to vote, and that is a belief I carried with me when I decided to vote here at Auburn. In 2012, the first election I could vote in, I assumed everyone was excited about participating in our democracy on a national level.
I came to realize, however, many people do not think it is important to vote, especially in Alabama, a state in which the majority of the population consistently votes for the Republican Party.
According to the U.S. census, only 61.8 percent of U.S. citizens voted in the 2012 presidential election.
An excuse I’ve heard for not voting while in college is it’s hard or time-consuming, but that is not the case. For incoming freshmen and those that have never voted in college before, it is a straightforward process.
If you aren’t from Auburn then you request for an absentee ballot. You will be sent a ballot, you follow the steps to fill it out and send it back to your county election office. The absentee ballot and all the information can be found on alabamavotes.gov.
Even if it does take time out of your day, voting is a privilege we need to respect. People in other countries would love to have the freedom to choose their own leader.
Another reason people don’t vote is, they think their vote doesn’t count.
It’s true Alabama will probably not be a blue state anytime in the foreseeable future, and a vote for Hillary Clinton will not make an overall impact in which way our electoral representatives vote, but every person’s vote still counts toward the popular vote.
If the majority of the people in the United States start consistently voting for a different candidate than the one chosen by the Electoral College, it will indicate a flaw in the system and would increase talks about whether the Electoral College is a necessity.
As U.S. citizens, we are fortunate to have a government we have a say in and its purpose is to serve our country’s best interests.
To be apathetic to one of the most important aspects of it is a shame.
As college students, we sometimes place ourselves in a bubble and forget how important our vote is in the future of our country.
Who we vote for will stand for the ideals we think are important and will become responsible for the changes we want to see as we enter the real world.
Voting is important because it gives us a say in our own futures. No matter if the candidate you support wins or loses, we cannot praise or condemn the status of our country unless we have done everything possible to make sure our voices and opinions are heard.
Take the time to form your own opinions about the candidates and register to vote.
If voter turnout keeps dropping because everyone thinks his or her vote isn’t important, we could end up with someone incompetent running our country.
Elizabeth Tiller is the online editor for The Plainsman. She can be reached at online@ThePlainsman.com.
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