Voting is an expression of one’s preference or opinion. Most people in a democratic country, such as the United States, understand the concept of voting because elections decide many things in a democracy. The general population elects local representatives, mayors, governors and presidents through voting. Governments, thus, revolve around elections and voting to a greater extent and it would be reasonable for all eligible people to express their opinions through voting.
Voting is important because it allows you to demonstrate your civic duty and it leads to positive social and civic outcomes.
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Civic duty is one of the advantages of voting because it is through voting that we demonstrate our civic duty. Voting is not just about presidential elections. Voting entails changes, political contests, and initiatives that influence our daily lives and we have the power to decide how we want to live (Krop, 2016). While we may not notice the importance of our votes immediately after the elections, we must, however, appreciate that we express our opinion in a way when we vote. Besides, voting is a privilege, which means that all eligible individuals should use it to express their civic duty and opinion. Voting does not only allow you to express your civic duty, but it also shapes your future due to the policies formulated by the elected leaders.
Voting has both positive social and civic outcomes. High voter turnout leads to the election of good leaders. It is important to vote because the leaders that we elect include those that are responsible due to their pro-social activities in our communities (Wilson, DiIulio Jr, Bose & Levendusky, 2018). Voting empowers us and our societies to benefit from the policies that the leaders we elect formulate. Voting also makes us relevant by including us in the vital public policy process, which allows us to examine the issues that affect us and only vote for leaders who will deal with those problems. Voting is also beneficial as it gives us the ability to be informed about local matters and to contact our elected leaders to discuss problems affecting us.
Voting has also positive civic outcomes because we feel the impact of voting only if we vote, especially when a single contestant has more supporters (Wilson et al., 2018). If we, however, fail to vote, the election results will not reflect our preferences. Failing to vote means that we only enjoy the electoral involvement of others. Voting allows us to choose the leaders that we want to address the issues in our society. If we all vote during elections the election results will reflect our decision in the society.
Some people, however, may argue that voting is costly because registering to become a voter takes time. It also takes time to understand the different views of different contestants. Besides, during the voting day, a person may be forced to avoid going to work, wait in a long line or struggle through bad weather, while only having a single vote to cast. It is important, however, to understand that we vote because a single vote that a person casts will make a difference (Gelman & Kaplan, 2008). If we fail to vote, we may not be able to ensure that the leaders we want are elected or the problems we want to be solved will be addressed. If, however, we vote during elections, we express our views by ensuring that the leaders we want to solve our problems are elected.
In conclusion, we should ensure that we go out to vote during elections because of the positive gains of voting. By voting, we express our civic duty by only electing the leaders that would deal with issues in the society. Voting also gives us a chance to participate in the public policy process through our leaders. Voting is, thus, important because it influences our future lives.
References
Gelman, A., & Kaplan, N. (2008, April 6). Voting as a rational decision . Retrieved September 20, 2018, from https://voxeu.org/article/voting-rational-decision
Kropf, M. E. (2016). Institutions and the Right to Vote in America . Springer. ( https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=BOo0DAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Institutions+and+the+right+to+vote+in+America&ots=bKSQkms1W1&sig=f7ez49wjRheWUM5JezZDgH6dM1o&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Institutions%20and%20the%20right%20to%20vote%20in%20America&f=false )
Wilson, J. Q., DiIulio Jr, J. J., Bose, M., & Levendusky, M. S. (2018). American government: Institutions and policies . Cengage Learning. ( https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=EhBEDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=American+government:+institutions+and+policies&ots=pBIsluYlRa&sig=1pqLJNUs8tOX5WcQgjd-HXgwrWo&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=voting&f=false )
