Your vote speaks

Voting should be important to college students.

College students are especially impacted by the results of elections. Elections decide the budgets for education, the funding for grants, as well as a myriad of other factors that influence an experience at a college. From financial aid, to tuition costs, students are already feeling the effects of decisions voted on from previous elections.

There are those with a “why bother” attitude that fail to understand that voting actually influences their lives. They do not realize that they are already subjected to the outcomes of past elections.

Some people may not vote simply because they are not registered voters, however; becoming registered is simple. According to USA.gov, one may register to vote at a department of motor vehicles office (DMV), armed forces recruiting center, and a myriad of other government offices. Everyone (unfortunately) will have to eventually visit a DMV and thus will not be able to use the excuse that they are not registered voters.

All registered voters should be able to vote on election day because polling places are plentiful in any given community. Schools, among other places are converted into polling places on election day and most places of employment have provisions to ensure that an employee is not kept from voting because of work.

Voting is easily accessible, and becoming registered to vote is not a difficult task, so it would follow that anyone who does not vote is likely just lazy or philosophically opposed to voting.

If one has anti- war sentiments that individual should most definitely vote in order to have his or her voice heard. Those with strong political convictions can’t reasonably keep their strong positions without at least trying to influence the outcome of an election by voting. Being too lazy to vote, despite having strong beliefs makes one a hypocrite and their passion questionable.

According to political scientists: Barbara Bardes, Mack Shelley, and Steffen Schmidt, the President of the United States (POTUS) has the authority to mobilize troops, launch missile strikes, and use nuclear force like Harry Truman in 1945. Though only Congress has the power to declare war, several presidents have waged undeclared wars in Southeast Asia. The president clearly has enough military power to warrant concern over who shall hold that position in office and the only way to manifest that concern into action is by voting.

The biggest critics of voting will cite the fact that the electoral college has the ultimate say in who the POTUS shall be, rather than the popular vote thus rendering the popular vote worthless and merely an illusion of influence.

This point of view makes the voting public look like manipulated pawns, but In reality, the winner of the popular vote often times wins the electoral vote as well. Only four times in the history of The United States has this been untrue. The electoral college tends to adhere to the popular vote of the states.

According to The Huffington Post, the electoral college is important to a democracy because it gives proper representation to smaller states. Opponents of voting due to the electoral college can therefore see the it as a necessary entity that serves a vital function to a democracy.

The people certainly do have an influence in politics in general and not just the presidential elections. Congressmen and women need local support in order to run for office. In California the voting public can vote on certain issues directly in the form of propositions.

Recall in 2008 where Prop 8 outlawed gay marriage. Prop 8 was recently overturned by the Supreme Court, which highlights the need to go and vote in order to prevent such injustices from occurring. A lack of voters allows the more extreme voices to have the most influences in politics, which can be a frightening thought.