Why We Need To Vote

(Not so) Fun Fact: I’ve never voted in any election I was able to.

If you would have asked me 4 years ago about why I didn’t vote, I 1000% would have said, “Because I don’t care about politics”. Looking back on that, I was just being super ignorant, and brushing off the subject. Why? It wasn’t because I didn’t care about politics, it was because I was uneducated on politics.

I’m trying to read more about BOTH sides…because I think it’s OK to align with different views even if they don’t fall within your party. I signed up for this newsletter to help me see both Democratic and Republican sides. I love that their goal isn’t to make you change your mind, but to provide deeper perspectives from both sides.

So while I’m educating myself about what’s actually going on in the world and within our country, I’m realizing just how freakin’ important it is to VOTE.

voting like my life depended on it

I’m being honest with myself, my life is most likely not going to change when the results come out. No matter who becomes president, my life will most likely stay the same. I’m a normal, middle class, working, white woman in New York City. Maybe that’s why I was so against learning about politics. Because I didn’t see any of the affects of what a bad leader (and leaders) can do to someone’s life. 2020 has REALLY opened my eyes. And I guess over the last few years, I started becoming more empathetic to what was going on in the country around me…even if I wasn’t directly impacted.

So this year, in my first year submitting my vote, I’m going to vote like my life actually did depend on it.

it’s not just a presidential election

The more I learned, the more I realized that this is much more than a presidential election. It’s all seats in the House of Representatives, the seats in the Senate, the governorships, and more. During past elections, I always thought my vote didn’t matter because no matter what, New York is always going to be a democratic state. So does my vote actually matter? But there are so many other races that are not necessarily “safe” in my state. So yeah, voting makes s huge difference.

i want to exercise my rights

This is our chance to try to make a difference in our lives. Voting is power. Read that again. VOTING IS POWER. Our vote allows us to control our government and to shape what types of policies we want in place. A lot of people don’t have the right to vote. There are many discriminatory voter ID laws that prevent millions of people from voting (take a look at Florida for example). The more I think about it, the more I realize that people try to take political power away from others because it’s A HUGE DEAL. Political power matters.

plan accordingly

Did you know that in the 2020 primary election, at least 65,000 absentee or mail-in ballots were rejected because they arrived late? Even though it was NO fault of the voter?

UM WHAT?

It’s also pretty scary to think about how many votes won’t count this election due to lateness and/or incorrectly filled out ballots. So we need to make sure we’re creating action plans and also educating others on what they need to do to ensure their ballots count.

In New York, early voting is allowed, so that’s my plan. If not, then I will absolutely be heading to the polls on November 3rd. At this point, I do not feel comfortable with mailing in my ballot. (PS: If you’re not registered to vote, check your state’s deadlines here…AND HURRY! Many are past or quickly approaching!)

At the end of the day, your views are your views. And your vote is your vote. While I hope our country makes a good choice and allows our country to move forward and progress, I can’t tell you what decision to make. But I can do one thing…and that is to tell you TO GET OUT THERE AND VOTE.