Voting has become an activity to some individuals that is not worth the effort. One of the critical rights we have is our right to choose who we want to represent us in our local, state or federal governments. Each year a substantial portion of those eligible to vote choose not to make the effort. The percentages of individuals in past elections have seen at best a little more than half of registered voters casting their ballots. The lack of a greater percentage participating can or would change the outcome of elections on issues and in some cases candidates for office.
Each of us have a more busy life than in the past and sometimes we have commitments which cannot be ignored though it may interfere with the activity of voting. While it is understandable to some extent the inclination to ignore their right to vote the reasons often presented are not justified. This is not to say that some events or situations may exist where individuals are unable to cast their ballot. Examples where individuals may be hampered to cast their ballot may include such events as unforeseen sickness or family emergencies.
Relating to the percentages that have voted in the past amounts to letting others determine who will impact your life with the decisions they will make. It is important for us as individuals to cast our ballots for candidates at all levels of government. Individuals we elected locally will have a greater impact on how we live through the decisions they make. One difference in many cases is citizens can voice their opinion on issues often at city council meetings on decisions local officials found it necessary to make. There are cases where citizens have the opportunity to provide input before decisions are made and this is one reason voters need to get involved in government operations and the decisions they make. Another aspect the term local means they are in the community not at a long distance location such as a state capital or at Congress.
We often hear the phrase if you do not vote you have no right to complain. In some ways this is true while in others it is not. We always have the right to express our opinion to our elected officials. The difference today involves several methods to choose from through the technology which exists today. The impact of not voting may also see drastic changes if the wrong individuals are elected to represent us. We may not always agree with every decision an elected official makes and we may not agree with the position of candidates on all the issues. We must decide which candidate overall agrees with the positions we have on issues prevalent in an election.
Dennis AuBuchon
I have been writing for several years and have written two books. One is titled Integrity: Do You Have it? 2nd edition and the other is What Makes a Good Audit? I have also written over 500 article primarily on the topic of integrity and hot topics of the day. My articles can be found on noomizo.com, helium.com, hubpages.com and American Chronicle to name a few My book on integrity defines integrity and discusses the characteristics. It creates a common set of criteria which is applied to various segments of society such as the news, education and politics among others. My book on auditing discusses and presents the requirements for auditing from the private sector and government. In addition it identifies the responsibilities of those being audited and those conducting the audits.
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This is one of those issues where I know I’m all alone in my thinking. But I think people who don’t vote are pretty much content with what is going on and don’t particularly care who gets elected. I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all.
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Either non-voters don’t care who gets elected or (just as likely) they’re disgusted beyond cynicism regarding uncompromising political parties and politics in general….the upshot of either attitude being, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
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Thanks for stopping buy and providing your input.
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Good comments so far. Certainly many voters take a nonchalant attitude as long as they do not see their ox getting gored. Some vote for people they believe will put something in their pocket that they value. Others believe the election rhetoric to one degree or another and simply vote and hope. Others like me try to vote based on what they (I) perceive as shared values. It is probably a mixed bag and the results seem to show we are all wrong as positive change seldom materializes.
It may be that we are all negligent in not holding politicians accountable for what they promised as opposed to what they delivered. They do what the hell they want when the election is over and we grumble and murmur but seldom start a recall and throw them out. They know voters are lethargic at best and can be promptly ignored. If we want better government we are going to have to make them accountable for their performance, and that institution is rock solid averse to accountability. I guess that is why and democracies come and go.
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