Why Should I Vote? The Pros and Cons of Voting
Posted: Monday, January 07, 2008
by Lorrie Davids
About this time in the election process we start hearing the words "Why should I vote?" In spite of the Electoral College seemingly having an edge, most people would be amazed to know that their vote really does make a difference, especially if the vote is made on a primary ballot.
A little on the light side, I have made a list of some of the pros and cons for casting your vote in your next election.
Pros of voting
By voting, you are exercising a right and privilege to select your leaders and make and change laws. You don't have to watch TV or listen to the radio very long to hear someone caterwauling about their rights being abused, but mention voting and no one wants to have much to do with it. But, think about this a minute. You are old enough to vote, fight in a war and it only makes sense you would want to make decisions that affect your quality of life.
When you cast your vote, you are letting our government know what you think about things. If no one ever votes, the only way our barely elected officials have of determining what decisions and changes their constituents desire is by counting the hate emails in their spam file. Do I have to even say that is not a good way to manage things? Every few years we have the opportunity to let the candidates know exactly what you think of them and their policies.
You will learn something. With all the talk about senility and how to combat it these days, you can easily view the exercise your mind gets as you research issues and candidates as a way to keep a healthy mind. Or, maybe you just enjoy learning. Pick a candidate (or issue) each day and find out for yourself if voting for or against is in your best interest.
Cons of voting
You have to register. If you have recently moved, when you change your address on your driver's license you will be sent a new voter registration card. Keep it somewhere safe so you can refer to it when election day arrives. It can't get any easier to register than this: register online at http://www.eac.gov/index_html1
You may be inconvenienced. You will have to adjust your schedule to accomodate a trip to your voting poll. You may also, hopefully, have to wait in line to cast your ballot. Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing!
You will need to do some research. Now for many of us, research is a fun thing. But for just as many, the word "research" brings on dry mouth and a need to lay down. I wonder if they have researched why that happens? Anyway, you will not be able to vote intelligently unless you have checked out what your candidates stand for and how the issues on the ballot affect you.
How does it all end? When all is said and done, we will have a new President. Whether or not it is someone you can agree with is up to you.
A little on the light side, I have made a list of some of the pros and cons for casting your vote in your next election.
By voting, you are exercising a right and privilege to select your leaders and make and change laws. You don't have to watch TV or listen to the radio very long to hear someone caterwauling about their rights being abused, but mention voting and no one wants to have much to do with it. But, think about this a minute. You are old enough to vote, fight in a war and it only makes sense you would want to make decisions that affect your quality of life.
When you cast your vote, you are letting our government know what you think about things. If no one ever votes, the only way our barely elected officials have of determining what decisions and changes their constituents desire is by counting the hate emails in their spam file. Do I have to even say that is not a good way to manage things? Every few years we have the opportunity to let the candidates know exactly what you think of them and their policies.
You will learn something. With all the talk about senility and how to combat it these days, you can easily view the exercise your mind gets as you research issues and candidates as a way to keep a healthy mind. Or, maybe you just enjoy learning. Pick a candidate (or issue) each day and find out for yourself if voting for or against is in your best interest.
Cons of voting
You have to register. If you have recently moved, when you change your address on your driver's license you will be sent a new voter registration card. Keep it somewhere safe so you can refer to it when election day arrives. It can't get any easier to register than this: register online at http://www.eac.gov/index_html1
You may be inconvenienced. You will have to adjust your schedule to accomodate a trip to your voting poll. You may also, hopefully, have to wait in line to cast your ballot. Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing!
You will need to do some research. Now for many of us, research is a fun thing. But for just as many, the word "research" brings on dry mouth and a need to lay down. I wonder if they have researched why that happens? Anyway, you will not be able to vote intelligently unless you have checked out what your candidates stand for and how the issues on the ballot affect you.
How does it all end? When all is said and done, we will have a new President. Whether or not it is someone you can agree with is up to you.
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More commentsThis article was very helpful to me. I had to do a report on the significance of voting. The report included questions about the pros and cons of voting. This is the most reliable source i could find.Thanks, Jasmine for reading and commenting. I'm glad I could be of help to you. Hope your report is a success.
I really like what you had to say. I agreed with most of it.Thanks for taking the time to read and comment, Momof2.
love this article! helped me alot with my pursuasive essy on why you should vote. thanks
BTW i am a 6th grader named danielaThanks, Daniela. I'm glad this article was useful to you.you always write really cool articles that are helpful
i don't think necessarily that it's the candidates that are not worthy of running a country persay but i chose not to vote because i personally don't think that you can narrow down MY perspective on every possible issue to 2 candidates. it seems unrealisticYou are right, Anon, it is unrealistic, but it is the system and the best way we have at this time to do things. Thanks for reading and commenting. I hope you find someone you can vote for in the future.
First time I have heard of you. But I agree. And I think its nice you reply to most of the comments. Keep Up the Good Work.Thanks, Mizuki313. I appreciate that you took the time to read and leave a comment. Have a good day!
this has been the best imformation of my life thanks jesus for all of man kind who has brought this down to us hes my hero i love u jesusThanks, Kristy, for reading and commenting!
I was looking for an article to help rationalize my unwillingness to vote (and never have), but there aren't enough 'cons' in this article to make me look good, so I guess I won't cite it. Ask yourself, what's worse: not voting or voting for someone who doesn't deserve your vote?I am not sure in the last couple of elections anyone deserved my vote, especially on the national level. Here in South Texas we have a few senators who really do listen to those they represent. But, since that is who we have to chose from to run the country, I want to have a voice. So, in that case, I select the things that are deal makers or breakers to me and go from there. Thanks, Serge, for taking the time to read and comment. I appreciate it!
Lorrie: Thank you and nice to read the article about pro and con about voting. I am pro voting, it is our right to choose our leader, and also being a citizen of this society, it is our responsibility to put right person in office (at list pick the least evil or less harmful leader for us and our society (our nation as a whole).
Do you have any recommendation or suggestion where I can find more pro and con issues about voting with reliable sources that I can cite for my research paper because I need for my college assignment. Thank you.
Hi Jim. Thanks for reading and responding. I really don't know where to find other articles on the pros and cons of voting, but I hope this article helped you. Good luck with you paper.
Lorrie: i am doing a school project on why voting is a waste of time a effort and so far i can't think of anything! I have to write a essay on the subject and so far all i have is voting can't always rely on the public and sometimes the end result ,people don't like and it goes horribly wrong, My project essay will be turned into notes then i have to do a 3 minute speech,
How can i make my class understand that i am agreeing with this argument in a formal, serious way? thank you!Laura, thanks for reading and commenting. I have heard some say that because of exit poll projections, they don't bother voting if it is close to the time the polls close. To answer your question..I don't know. Let me know how it goes!
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