UNITED STATES—This week marked primary elections for many communities and states across the county. Perhaps the most important question for most Americans who can vote is rather or not they headed to the polls. Unfortunately, the answer is no. For some reason, the voter turnout is always at all time lows when a Presidential race is not in the midst of taking place.

 

We seem to forget about those running for Mayor, Governor, City Council, various city positions or potential proposals that may be on the ballot. The President of the United States of America has very little impact on your community; this is something so many people fail to realize. A vote is a vote, no matter how small or how big you may think it is, you should still vote.

 

Even in this country where a vast majority of minorities and women were not able to vote for decades, now that that opportunity has been given to us, we are taking it for advantage. So many people literally lost lives, were verbally and physically tormented while they attempted to have their right to vote be heard. So why are we sleeping on this issue like it’s an afterthought?

 

I don’t understand it. There is absolutely no excuse, and I mean nothing that should stop a person from casting a ballot. If you’re going to be out of town, cast an absentee ballot. You have to work, do it before or after you get off work. You have kids, drag them along with you. The only excuse for not casting a ballot should be the fact that you’re on your death bed and you have no means to do so. I heard so many people whine and complain this week about not voting, and I thought to myself “Seriously?!”

 

I wanted to slap some sense into their brain about the thousands of people they are letting down by not letting their vote/opinion be heard. A vote is an opportunity for you to choose, not someone else. It gives you power.  We should not only head out to the polls in massive numbers when the election of a new President is in place, we should be voting anytime the opportunity arises.

 

What if all of a sudden the government decided to say those who don’t regularly vote would have that right taken away from them? You’d have every single person in the country in a complete uproar. “You can’t take my right to vote away from me.” So tell me, why aren’t you voting then?

 

It’s a question that you hear from people time and time again, yet for some unexplainable reason no one wants to be honest about why the ability to vote is so important. If this is something that is a fundamental right of every American citizen when they turn the age of 18, why aren’t we doing more to push this right onto the people who abuse it or dismiss it as a simple afterthought. You don’t vote, but you’re in uproar when something that you should have voted for or against is or isn’t passed.

 

Who do you have to blame? You have no one to blame, but yourself. A vote is not just any vote, it’s your vote. When you fail to vote, you’re failing your country on performing a civic duty that was not always rewarded to certain individuals in our country.