5 Reasons Why Voting is a Dying Cause

First, I support informed voters going to polls on election days. Voting offers people a chance to voice opinions, choose who they wish to be represented by and ultimately have even a slight say in the way the world works. The system and how it is used and portrayed, however, is incorrect.

1. Mid-term elections

As a college student, I watch the campus explode (or maybe, gently stir) come a presidential election. Students register for absentee ballots, wear witty shirts (Barack to the Future) and debate openly. Two years later, however, they silently continue on with their schedules. There is no mention of the elections or candidates during lunch periods. A few professors remind students of the coming elections, but the excitement flickers and dies out until the next presidential election.

2. Uninformed Voting

In high school, my little brother ran for president of his class. He tied for first with the other candidate. When the teachers were unsure how to choose a winner, they brought in the few students who went to vocation technical programs all day, and knew neither candidate. These students, chosen to elect the next class president, hadn’t even heard the speeches.

This is similar to what is happening to voting in the US. Plenty of kids say, “I voted for who my parents told me to.” It isn’t as much of a stereotype as we’d all like to think. It is okay, though, to share a choice with your parents. If a voter chooses the same candidate with a thorough knowledge of the options, then everything is okay. The problem is many voters will listen to what someone they trust, such as a parent, has to say and hold it closer to them than a stranger’s evidence.

We’ve inspired a culture of uninformed voters (not that all voters are uninformed, and the youth are not the only culprits, either).

3. The Race

Elections have changed. Media has changed. Voters have changed. Yet, for some reason, our expectation of the system has not. Candidates can reach out to most of the country in seconds with information, receive money from countless donors (all types included) and the voters see what they are shown. That is the largest problem with the system. What is given to the voters is what has changed the most. People who have grown up with the internet are used to easy information fast. You no longer have to study a subject to understand it, but someone else is readily available to explain: blogs, forums, Google or any other search engine.

It is no longer a system of traveling to promote your campaign. Sure, politicians travel and speak, but most of the race is run on the news and over the internet. In fact, politicians have little to do with races anymore, in these areas. That is why the highly publicized presidential races are popular among college age voters and the local elections, which get far less news and internet coverage, are non-existent to the younger voters.

4. Expectations of a Candidate

For picking the leader of a country, the highest considerations should go into a vote. Yet, it seems simple matters will be held against a candidate, regardless of his/her political standpoints. President George W. Bush was someone “you could have a beer with.” No party lines, just an example of an elected official everyone should be relatively familiar with. While it is okay to respect a candidate for being personable, and that is definitely a trait worth having in a president, it should not be a deciding factor. When asked, “why did you vote for X,” the answer should never be “he was personable.” That is undervaluing what comes with a job so large.

People are so over-coated with information because of the media sources that they get overwhelmed. Instead of focusing on real platforms and comparing what a candidate has done and plans to do, they get distracted by personal facts. A personal life has a part in the presidency, but not to the point it has reached.

5. The News

It is obvious to anyone flipping channels that different sources relay different information. Polls on Fox and polls on MSNBC show completely different numbers. One candidate will be interviewed ten times on one network and ignored on the next. As we are a generation looking for quick access to easy answers, this is devastating for the system. If I only watch one channel to get a quick glimpse, even if I don’t realize it, I am being told an agenda.

Objectivity in the news is deteriorating. This makes sense, as large corporations have pulls and benefits associated with particular candidates. It is a sad time when there is so much satire devoted to news, and the news doesn’t change to correct it. There is the internet, but it is hard to fight false information and add in true when the enemy only has to project false. It is obvious why this has corrupted elections.

What We Can Do:

• Fact-check when you are looking to vote. Don't be afraid to dig through government records, mostly published online.
• Take time to look at candidates before voting. If you do not have the time to make your own decision, then do not vote. I don't like promoting people not to vote, but I'd feel worse promoting uninformed voting. That is what is fed to the young voters today. It is a bad message with good intentions.
• Read news from all over. Buy a paper with a slant to the left and watch a program with a slant to the right. Listen to all sides of an issue, and then decide which seems true.
• Did I mention fact-checking? Even if you just go on YouTube and watch a few minutes of actual speeches, it will help. Be careful not to run into spoofs and parts taken out of context.
• Ignore stupid jabs at politicians for personal problems. Do not mistake empathy for a good, rational candidate. Do not mistake religion or heredity for any stereotype that gets thrown at a candidate. These things are not as consequential as the matters that get ignored (stances, beliefs, voting history, etc.).
• Be informed and be active.