Voting is one of the most important freedoms we have in the United States. But don’t believe that if you are not in the States, you can’t vote.
Absentee ballots matter, too.
Like many juniors at DU, I have spent the past five months abroad; in New Zealand to be exact. Part of my preparation for coming here was to submit an absentee ballot request, being that 2018 is a midterm year.
Even though I’m actually abroad, I normally vote via absentee ballot for my home state of Maryland.
The 2016 presidential election was decided by a couple thousand votes. Now that may not seem like a lot, but it has an impact.
Your vote can easily be one of those to sway the balance scales.
Trends for absentee, early and mail-in voting are showing dramatic rises because, overall, more Americans want to vote every year and are finding ways to do so.
People are turning to these methods out of sheer convenience. You don’t have to stand in line at a polling place and you can vote whenever you want by just dropping a ballot off or sending it in.
50% of young adult voters (aged 18-29) turned out to vote in 2016. Only about half of all eligible voters across the US turned out.
One of the most commonly used excuses for that is because it’s difficult to get to a polling place or applying absentee is hard. However, there are no excuses.
Absentee, early and mail-in voting are designed systems for people who are unable to get to polls, don’t want to wait, can’t get time off for voting, etc. Whatever reason you tell yourself is okay to not participate, is crap. Apply online or in-person to your board of elections. Early voting is easy, find out the time frame and show up.
Politics affect you. The way your state and the country votes has an impact on you.
We don’t care how you vote or who you vote for, as long as you vote and make your voice heard.