The Importance of Student Voting
On Nov. 6, millions of Americans headed to their local polling stations to cast their votes for the nation’s midterm elections. While student organizations like Democratic Club took some measures to encourage student participation in these elections, such as gathering groups to walk to polling places together, not enough action was taken by the Academy itself. Although it is easier said than done, voting is an important right that should be exercised by all Americans. Exeter needs to do more to support student voting, but students should also be more proactive in taking steps to vote.
First of all, more votes support the health of America’s democracy. With a higher voter turnout, our democracy represents a broader range of perspectives. Our current political situation may cause disillusionment to be more commonplace than optimism, but we cannot forget the fact that many countries around the world still have oppressive governments who deny their citizens the right to the ballot. Although voting is a basic American right, we have to treat it as a privilege which could be stripped away from us.
Voting is also a chance for people to act on what they believe in. Some may believe that their vote doesn’t make much of a difference, but with the midterm elections, the amount of power a president has correlates to whether their party controls the Senate and the House. In this recent midterm election, Democrats regained a majority in the House, which could counter Trump’s promises to pass amendments to existing agreements such as NAFTA. Even a few thousand votes could make all the difference. In the example of Georgia’s gubernatorial election, there is still debate over the projected winner of the race. While Stacey Abrams is 1.5 percentage points behind Brian Kemp in a NYT list of election results, she has stated her refusal to concede until the absentee and provisional ballots are counted, proving that elections such as these are often dependent upon the smallest of margins.
For many people, their ancestors fought long and hard for the right to vote. Suffragettes such as Susan B. Anthony only won their battle in 1920, meaning that American women have only had the right to vote for less than a century. For people of color, the struggle has been even longer and more arduous—Native Americans were only given the right to citizenship and the right to vote in 1924, while Asian-Americans followed suit in 1943. The Voting Rights Act was only signed into law in 1965, which outlawed discriminatory voting practices that very often disenfranchised black voters. Within all of these movements to enfranchise voters of color, a lot of sacrifices had to be made, with pioneers often receiving jail time, being discriminated against or even killed for fighting for a basic right.
Recently, many states have been purging voter rolls in an attempt to skew elections under the guise of voter fraud. This action only proves the significant power of the vote, and we must fight back in order for our voices to be heard. Cast your vote in the midterm elections, in the presidential election. Check on your voter registration status regularly. Know your rights.