With the presidential election inching closer, the voting decision is creeping up on U.S. citizens. Whether or not people will vote in the 2024 election on Tuesday, November 5, is in the forefront of people’s minds as they consider the presidential candidates and whether or not their vote will matter in electing the president of their choice.
The spread of disinformation, distrust of the electoral system, and a basic lack of knowledge have proven to discourage citizens from voting because they believe that their vote won’t make a difference. In the 2020 presidential election, only around 66% of the population participated, and this was even a higher year on record.
The system used in the United States is called the Electoral College in which individuals’ votes go to a statewide tally, and the winner gets all of the electoral votes for that state. There are a total of 538 electoral votes, and in order for a presidential candidate to win, they need to have at least 270 electoral votes. The fact that individual votes don’t go directly towards the candidate of their choice is what causes a lot of people to make the decision to not vote. However, the only reason the system has not proven to work effectively is because of the lack of voter population.
Looking at the statistics on voter population, it is recorded that less than 71% of white Americans vote in presidential elections, less than 54% of Hispanic or Latino, 63% of black or African American, and 60% of Asian, only to name a few. This is beyond alarming when considering how little representation the voting population actually includes.
“When large groups don’t vote it skews the representation of elected officials,” Lisa Lewis, an elected member of the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District, said. “Remember, elected officials are making decisions to act as a voice for the people, so we need to understand how the majority of individuals feel to represent them accordingly. I also see a lot of misrepresentation amongst candidates that run for office. We tend to see similar types of people running that certainly don’t represent the population.”
Voting is an active way for citizens to participate in democracy in the United States. It is a privilege to be able to vote in elections, as many circumstances prevent people from having the right to vote. Felony disenfranchisement, citizenship status, and mental disabilities are just some reasons people are unable to cast their vote. It is the duty of a citizen to utilize their privilege of voting to support the candidate of their choosing. It is also important as a citizen who can vote to think about the people who cannot, and to not take this privilege of theirs for granted.
In addition, a common misconception about voting is that the sole purpose is to elect the next president, however, there are other things included on the ballot such as abortion laws, sick leave rules, and educational scholarships. There is so much more on the line than the presidential candidates.
“Voting definitely matters,” Michaela Schleicher, Lincoln East history teacher, said. “We are a republic that relies on citizen participation to voice our concerns to our government and ensure the most qualified person is elected into office. If citizens don’t do their part to become informed and vote, we rely on others to make decisions for us, and they might not have the same interests in mind.”
The reliance on others to vote and the disillusionment that individual votes don’t matter is what causes the Electoral College system to be ineffective. If the entire population in the United States casted their vote, the Electoral College would then have a much closer representation to a popular vote.
“In general, people tend to think that they will not have any impact on the outcome with their vote in an election,” Lewis said. “Just think if everyone thought that way. It is important to see the bigger picture, understand the process, and get involved. Our future and our children’s future is at stake.”
Living in the state of Nebraska, it is especially important to cast a vote. Nebraska is one of two states (the other being Maine) that follows the congressional district method where the state allocates two votes to the popular vote winner and the other three can be divided with the electoral vote for each district going to whichever candidate wins the popular vote there. In the 2020 election, Nebraska split the vote by giving Trump four electoral votes and Biden one. This was only the second time this split occurred in Nebraska history. With this as a possibility, the state of Nebraska can act as a swing state and can ultimately change the outcome of the election, meaning it is vital for Nebraska residents to cast their vote.
There are so many factors that go into naming the next president of the United States, but the basis of all of it revolves around citizen participation and advocacy. Without this, the US would no longer be considered a democracy, therefore it is necessary for the citizens to do their duties for their country. Make sure to cast your vote on November 5 in order to have an impact on the future of the country.
