The American vote, it’s what decides who will be our new political leader from local like your city’s mayor. To national like the next president of our country. All of this comes down to us the American people to decide who will run these political positions. But how important is my vote I mean it’s only one vote; it’s not like my vote is going to make the difference in an election. Despite this belief your vote does matter. Here we will talk about the importance of voting in your community and nationally. In addition, we will talk about some examples of elections that were decided by just a few votes.
Voting in the United States is one of the most crucial aspects in deciding political leaders in our country and we see people all the time voting for mayors and governors. However, every 4 years we have the most important decision our country has made and that is the Presidential election. During this time, we see millions of people 18 years and older vote for the next president of our country. How about the millions of people who decided not to vote. In every election many people don’t vote because they either feel stuck in the middle and don’t know who to vote for or they don’t see the importance in their vote. On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson made a remark talking about the signing of the voting rights acts. In this Lyndon B. Johnson stated, “The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by human beings for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison people because they are different from others.” I find this quote to be a perfect example of why voting is important in democracy. From this quote we can see that voting is a powerful instrument and that we should use it to help us decide what we want from our country. When we don’t vote we let other people decide for us and we become silenced by others. The power to vote helps us have a voice in democracy by letting us express our opinions on politics.
Voting is a lot more than just putting in a piece of paper with your vote on it in a box. It’s much more than that. Author Roald Dahl said in his book Matilda published in 1988. Said “Somewhere inside of all of us is the power to change to world.” This quote may not be tied exactly to voting however it pays a key aspect on the power of voting. When you break down this quote, we can see that we have the power to change the world. Voting gives the power to express our opinion in American democracy. For example, our parents, friends, and family all have different opinions on who they want to vote for. However, this can influence many people by just expressing their thoughts and can change the way people vote and their opinions. We must vote so that we are not silent, even if you are not old enough you should start to prepare for the next election and find where you stand in democracy even if you are not sure where you stand, just vote. Your vote isn’t only a piece of paper; it’s another voice in society. Now how about the elections that were decided by a few votes or less.
In recent memory you would be shocked to find out we have had many elections decided by jew a few votes or less. Firstly in 2017 an election for A Virginia house of delegates had over 23,000 votes casted and it ended in a tie. To break the tie, they pulled a name that was placed in a fil canister out of a bowl to decide who won the election. The winner of this election was republican David Yancey; talk about a crazy way to win to an election. Another example of an election being decided by only a few votes was in Alaska in 2008 when there was a race for the Alaska state house where the republicans won a majority of the seats by just 4 votes out of 10,000 votes. From this information we can see that one vote can decide an election like in Virginia where if just one more person voted we wouldn’t have to have to draw a name out of a bowl. Or in Alaska in 2008 where if just 5 more people voted democrat it would have flipped the entire election.
To sum it all up, is my vote important I mean it’s just one vote its not like it’s going to make the difference in an election. After what we have discussed your vote does matter so use it because your vote is a right and we need to be grateful for this right that we have been given. Even if you are not old enough to vote, plan on it and find your place in democracy and society because old or young we are the future of this country. Because after all your vote is your voice and you can be the deciding factor in an election so don’t let others decide for you and have your voice be silenced so Vote.
