Vote For You

I want to preface and let you know that the majority of the people within my group of friends are young conservatives (Yes, they exist and in large numbers). That tends to happen when you grow up in the Midwest and attend a conservative Baptist university. It is not intentional — I have several friends who are farther left than I knew was possible — and I do my best to ensure that I receive a variety of worldviews from all political flavors, but it is fact. While the percentage of American citizens who receive their news via social media rises, I realize my social media is Fox-biased and I go out of my way to balance that. In fact, there are individuals I follow (mostly on Twitter) who I disagree with the vast majority of the time, but I continue to follow them because I want to understand how those with a different worldview operate. I want diversity.

As I result, if forced to clump those I follow into two categories, I would label them as those who love Bernie Sanders* and those who abore Donald Trump. These categories obviously do not fit everyone (Yes, I have a few Hillary fans and people who are 110% certain Trump is the change America needs), but they fit 98% of my people and that is the best I can do. Common between both of these groups is most of them have expression terror at the prospect of forced to choose between Hillary and Trump.

What terrifies me is that the same people who quake at that thought almost always say they would respond by a refusal to vote on November 8th.

To be 100 percent frank, I did not vote in the 2012 presidential election for two reasons: I forget to register for my absentee ballot (I was in college and away from home at the time), and I did not like either candidate. There were roughly equal portions of their platforms that I loved and despised, but neither truly represented my values and how I thought America should operate. However, I am a registered voter, which only 58.9% of 18–24 year-olds can say.

USA Today’s 2012 survey revealed that 59% of eligible Americans voters who do not vote skip the polls because they believe nothing is ever accomplished. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that only 57.5% of eligible Americans voted in 2012; perhaps that is because it was an incumbent year because 63.9% of Americans voted in 2008, regardless, both of those numbers clearly demonstrate that this country does not have a high standard when it comes to the showing up at the voting booth. While this article shows there are a variety of reasons why Americans do not vote, interestingly, the notion that the vast majority of non-voters do so because they believe it does not accomplish any good seems to be an oxymoron.

Because you refuse to vote does stop someone from being elected.

Yes, I fall into the category of those who do want to pick between HIllary and Trump; I believe they both have certain areas where they would excel in the position, but their lack of ethics terrifies me. However, I still fully-intend to show up on November 8th and cast a ballot — even if they are my major party candidates — not because I think it is my civic duty (which it is), but because I want a say in who next leads the country and I will not let someone else decide that for me~. However, I have a (hopefully) mostly fool-proof to avoid that scenario.

Just in case you missed it (if so, lucky you!) Iowa’s caucus was last Monday; most of the data has not been compiled yet, but this article reports that only 15.7% of Iowa’s eligible voters reported to the polls. Yes, your read correctly, not even a quarter of the eligible voters showed up for perhaps the most important caucus hosted in this country. I cannot help but wonder why 84.3% of Iowa’s eligible voters decided to not vote, just as I cannot help but wonder what would have been different if they had. Yes, Iowa holds caucuses, which are much more difficult to participate in than elections, but those numbers still speak truth.

Why do we allow 15.7% of one state’s eligible voters predict who will win each party’s endorsement and who will drop out of the race? Why would Iowans — or anyone — want to allow only 15.7% of the eligible population decide who is on the ballot as this country’s leader for the next four years? If you think that four years is not much time for circumstances to change, compare the US in 1928 to 1932, or 1999 to 2003.

How did I decide to combat this phenomenon? I registered for my state’s primary election.

I have an idealistic dream: If I am fortunate enough to not be forced to chose between Trump and Hillary, I hope it is not because one decided to leave the race; rather, I hope it is because the eligible voters in this country decided to show up in February, March, April, May, and June to vote, which would make the top two candidates’ names on ballots come November 8th genuinely reflects who the public wants to pick between.

If you are like many of my friends, your gut reaction to this is, “But I don’t align with a particular party!” That is a valid reaction, but I have a few questions for you: Do you have any intentions of voting for a GOP candidate? Do you watch the Democrat debates with any motivation beyond mocking them and their platforms after the fact? Have you always voted or agreed with a specific party? Do you avoid all potential associations with a specific party?

Yes, you may be a libertarian, but if you have no interest in voting for a Democrat candidate because their vision of government is too big for you, then go register for the Republican primary. Yes, you may identify with the Green party, but if the thought of voting for someone who opposes abortion/women’s right, then go register for the Democrat primary.

If you already know who you want in the White House January 21st, then go register so you can vote in the primary and give them your support now. Otherwise, they may not even be an option on November 8th.

Are you unsure when your state/territory hosts their primary election or caucus? Got ya covered!

*If you intend to vote for Hillary and do not spend your days insulting everyone who disagrees, please reach out because I would love to learn more about you and potentially follow you. No promises, but seriously. I want you in my life.

~Yes, I fully realize the United States of America is a republic, not a democracy, so the Electoral College technically decides the next president, but I am perfectly happy to vote out a member of the elector if they vote against what the people they represent voted for. This is 2016, not 1816.