Ok, So What?

At this point, more than enough emphasis has been placed on the importance of voting. In fact, TV and social media has proven itself to be a major influence on the societal perception of voting . 

In our country, voting has established itself as a relic for progression. In every instance of change, we can recognize a critical election that enabled the acceptance of new ideas, new voices, and new opportunities to unite. 

The springboard, that is voting, depends on whether or not people will go to the polls. 

Think about it this way: In the midst of a couple lions roaring, a colony of mice can create a sound that is faint yet shrewd. However, the point I am making is that the substantial numbers that show out at elections like 2020 count just as much as the smaller-numbered elections do, but for different reasons. 

According to FairVote.org,  about 60% of Americans who are eligible to vote, vote during presidential election years. However, about 40% of eligible voters vote during midterm elections. The following data was collected during the highest presidential and midterm turnout in over a century, which occurred in 2018 and 2020. 

The Following Action

Towards the end of many general elections, candidates and their supporters tend to end their argument on the importance of voter participation in local elections. 

To some, this argument seems pointless. However, bringing up a smaller election all of a sudden has a relevance that is weak.

For one, it begs the question of: why is it being brought up now? When voting locally has vaguely ever been mentioned before hand, and (2) how is their expectation expected to be met when the expectation is not fully understood.This very well is a great argument, and it is backed up with great reasoning. 

However, it is believed that the intentions behind bringing up local elections in the midst of a general election, are good. This is due in part to each candidate anticipating how they plan to adopt their agenda across the country. 

After a general election, smaller elections begin. The purpose of these elections are to vote for Councilman, Mayors and Commissioners within a state. 

Unfortunately, many Americans are unaware of the proximity of these smaller elections, and thus end up not participating. Plus, they are unaware of who is running for these positions. The first and last time most Americans hear about these candidates is from a pamphlet they receive while they are in line to vote (and that’s if they know about the election). 

Our country needs to do a better job of promoting and educating the public about smaller elections. While smaller elections address a smaller number of Americans, they do hone in on specific interests of the local community.  

This is crucial because while the president makes overarching decisions for the country as a whole, they don’t know the internal workings of each and every state. If they did, our country would not have local governments. 

From this point, it is our responsibility as Americans and students to educate ourselves on who is running in these local\elections and when they will occur. We all have heard that it is something we should do. 

So why wait? We should not have to wait for the “big guys”, the national government, to place an emphasis on voting right here at home for us to vote right here at home. Get up! Get educated! Go on to the following action and make that plan to vote locally. 

For more information, visit: https://ballotpedia.org/North_Carolina_elections,_2021.