When I turned eighteen, I was excited for only one thing: the right to vote in a general election. While I knew the debate over the actual effect my vote would have in the grand scheme of things as far as a presidential election, voting is still important to me. What people fail to recall is that the President does not hold supreme power in the nation. Yes, it is true that the President is the de facto leader of the free world, but he (or she) does not hold all power. Many people who are opposed to elections forget the "smaller" elections.
I worked for a congressional reelection campaign in the summer of 2008 for Republican Tim Walberg. Many people I talked to at the time about voting stated they were only voting for President and not for anything else. It made campaigning a delicate thing and one to be studied. I wield my voting power not just for President, not just for Congress, but for state elections too. For example, I will cast my absentee vote for Governor of my state (Michigan) this year.
To conclude, I believe voting is so important, I would not want to live in a place where there are not elections. While your voice may not necessarily be heard in Presidential elections, you can still have your say in smaller elections and in your state.
I am quite confused at some of the assertions you are making in your post this week. The main problem that I have with your argument is the contradiction made in the first paragraph. I must ask, how can the President be the leader of the free world and not hold all the power?
ReplyDeleteWhile I recognize the fact that our nation is a federation with three branches who all retain their own powers and employ a system of checks and balances to keep order, it must be observed that the Executive Branch holds the majority of the "doing" power within the country.
I am glad that you see the importance of elections and the significance in voting however, I must question your statement that one's votes may not be heard in Presidential elections. Although the electoral college eliminates the power of popular vote, I would argue that each vote is still valid and important to the overall process. You seem to take the stance that local elections are more important than Presidential elections, but I think they are equally important. Voting is necessary in all elections. It is important to express your opinions about state and federal issues and candidates. Since our government works on a system of checks and balances, voting only for one aspect of government is ineffective.
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