Saturday Selects is a series of posts I write on the first Saturday of each month to discuss various topics outside the general bookish theme of the blog. Today’s topic is voting.
Congressional favorability ratings are still hovering around all-time lows. People are fed up with politicians. Many don’t think of their vote for president as being consequential. But everyone is only a part of one Congressional district for the House of Representatives. So instead of thinking about that one person who represents your area in the United States House of Representatives, why not think of all the local races and candidates on the ballot in November? Local judges. Sheriff. State senator and representative. School board. Mayor. State constitutional amendments. Governor.
You see, there is so much more on the ballot than just the presidential and congressional candidates. Every time I’ve voted there has been more than a dozen local items on the ballot. Voting for or against these items and candidates is probably even more important than voting in the national races. You could be voting on the legalization of marijuana or a major construction package. You could be voting on tax hikes or school funding. These would all be very important questions that are all local propositions. And items that could have a real impact on your life. Which is why I believe it to be so important to vote.
Maybe you don’t care about who occupies the Oval Office. Maybe you’ve never thought of what your Congressman is doing for you in Washington DC. And maybe you’ve been put off the entire political process. But voting is a whole lot more than political candidates hundreds or thousands of miles away. Election day isn’t for many months, but state primaries and caucases are well underway. And I’d encourage every registered voter to research their local candidates and get out to vote. Because you might not be interested in voting for Trump, Hillary, Bernie, or one of the remaining presidential candidates; but local races are also important.
How often do you vote?
Johnny Reads 
Hi, I tagged you for the versatile blogger award 🙂 https://ohmyplot.wordpress.com/2016/03/06/the-versatile-blogger-award/
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Thanks!
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every local race. I’m on an auto vote at home process, so it’s totally painless and ensures I know what’s on the ballot every time something comes up and can use my voice.
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What’s that? Like a mail-in ballot or something?
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yes.
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I usually vote. This year, I’m just not sure I want to.
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Really? It’s important that I do vote this year. Because of who’s in the running for major office. I refuse to just sit back and let someone like Trump have any chance at the White House. I may not be releasing attack ads. I may not know Kore than a few dozen people on a personal level. And my position on things may not be the same as the next person. But I WILL vote.
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You are probably right. I’m sure I will too.
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Very nice post John – elequently and passionately written.
And you’re so right – I get very cross here when people don’t vote or there’s a low turn out at elections. At one time only rich white men who owned property could vote in the UK, the well off thought ordinary people weren’t intelligent enough to make important national decisions. Then brave, ordinary people fought – often literally – to win the vote for everyone. We still have a government largely run by privately educated white men from privileged backgrounds making decisions about lives they have no concept of.
It’s so important people engage with who makes decisions on their behalf. If you don’t vote, you don’t have the right to complain about those in office.
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