(WARNING: DOES CONTAIN A GRAPHIC IMAGE, VIEWER DESCRETION IS ADVISED)
On November 8, over 140 million will go to the polls making this election year historic. Every new election the minority voters become more and more important. With all the rhetoric being thrown around by both candidates about minorities it’s more important than ever that we all go out and vote.
Why the minority vote is so crucial?
1. Minorities are the majority
2016 will be the most diverse voting year in history. There are 10.7 million more eligible voters than in 2012. Over two thirds of that growth comes from minorities. That’s huge. Although media makes it seem as though our vote is meaningless, it carries weight as a whole.
2. Historical significance
We take our right to vote for granted. We forget all the people who fought for us to be able to even waste a vote. When the US constitution was written and they included the right to vote they only thought of White free men. No women, no minorities.
Checkout these facts:
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Women didn’t get the right to vote until 1920, all thanks to suffrage but this only really allowed white women to vote
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Native Americans were granted citizenship in 1924 but weren’t allowed to exercise their right to vote until 1957
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Asian Americans gained their right to vote in waves during the mid 1940s
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The 15th amendment gave African American men the right to vote in 1870 but not until 1965 could they actually go to vote
People were killed fighting for these rights.
3. Our issues are on the ballot
There’s power in our vote. A lot of the issues being discussed relates to minorities. LGBTQA rights, women’s reproductive health rights, disability rights, immigration are all present and who better to vote on them than us!
It’s absolutely crucial you go out to vote. Take this week to read up on both candidates and their positions and become an informed voter. Remember to go out and vote this November!