In 1972, I was eighteen years old and voted in the presidential election. This was my first time voting, and I was excited to use the power of the ballot. I grew up during the civil rights era and Black Power movement. I learned that one of the most important rights of American citizens is the right to vote. It is an important part of our democracy. By voting, citizens are participating in the democratic process. Voting is my civic duty, guaranteed by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. It is also my responsibility to honor the civil rights activists who were beatenand killed for the right to vote.
There were many civil rights leaders who fought for the right to vote. One person in particular, Fannie Lou Hamer, stood out. Like my family, she was from a poor sharecropping family and reminded me of my brave mother. Hamer lived in Mississippi, about an hour from my hometown, and was a powerful advocate for voting rights and civil rights. In 1962, she and others traveled to Indianola to register to vote. When they arrived at the courthouse, only two were required to register and they had to pass a literacy test. She didn’t pass her first time but didn’t give up. Eventually she passed and paid the poll tax so she could vote. She became a leader in the civil rights movement, traveled across the country, and spoke out against racial injustice. She advocated for the rights of Black people and other people of color to vote. Her efforts in the struggle for voting rights helped get the Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed.
There are many people who don’t vote. According to research studies by Columbia University, eligible voters with low incomes are less likely to do so in national elections. The study found that only 46 percent of potential voters with family incomes less than twice the federal poverty line voted in the 2016 presidential election. This was compared to 68 percent with family incomes above twice the poverty line. Some of the reasons given include disillusionment with the candidates, campaign issues, and the political process. They feel the politicians are not speaking to their issues, their vote will not matter, difficulty getting to the polls, and difficulty understanding the ballot.
Poor and low income people turned out in larger numbers in some state and local elections. According to Rev. William J. Barber, II, co-chairman of the Poor People’s Campaign, a nonpartisan coalition advocating to increase the power of the poor, over 40 percent of Americans with lower incomes remained an untapped political force.
Many people are discouraged to vote in Presidential elections because of difficulty understanding the Electoral College. The Electoral College was put in place by our founding fathers years ago. Citizens vote for the President and Vice President. Actually, we are voting for candidates for representatives from the candidate’s political party. These representatives are called electors and promise to vote for the candidate we chose. Each state gets a select number of electors based on the number of senators and members of the House of Representatives. In my state of Tennessee, we have 11 electoral votes,twoU.S. senators and nine U.S. representatives. The total number of electors from all states is 538. It takes 270 electoral votes to win the election.
The President of the United States is determined by the Electoral College. State level representative such as Governors, State Legislatures, and Mayors are selected based on the person receiving the most votes.
Each presidential election has two results, the popular vote and the electoral vote. The popular vote is the voter’s choice, and the electoral vote is the elector’s choice. If a candidate wins in highly populated states, they will have enough electoral votes to win. The thought was if a candidate wins the popular vote, they will usually win the number of electoral votes. The swing states, also called battleground states, are not loyal to either candidate or party. They may “swing” to any candidate. Because of this, political parties spend more time and campaign resources on winning these states. There is no universal definition of what identifies a swing state. They are characterized by having small vote margins and that different political parties win over time. Currently, the swing states are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
It is important to vote because many candidates for political offices are voted in by only one or two votes. The same goes for important issues that are passed into law. The people who are most likely to be affected by changes in legislation or political power, such as the poor, minorities and the disenfranchised, are the least likely to vote.
Voting is important because it’s not only a right but also a privilege. Voting lets us express our ideas and opinion on issues in our country. This allows us to learn were the candidate’s stand on certain issues in the world today. Voting is the most powerful way to express our ideas and opinions.
Francie Mae. April 15, 2023
References
Fannie Lou Hamer. Wikipedia. Website. Accessed April 14, 2023.
Stevens, Matt. The New York Times. “Poorer Americans have much lower voting rates in national elections than the non-poor, a study finds.” August 11, 2020. Website. Accessed April 15, 2023.
USA FACTS. “What are the current swing states and how they changed over time?” November 1, 2022. Updated November 28, 2023. Website. Accessed April 15, 2023.