Vote: Just Do It

• Tweet
• 

It may be no surprise that there has been a lot of emphasis on getting out the vote. The methods used to achieve this may seem a bit much, considering how aggressive some of the organizers are toward newly-registered voters, reminding them to actually get out to the polls.

If you think there is an obsession over the electoral process in American democracy, consider how extreme older forms of democracy were. The ancient Greeks would establish councils that voted on affairs concerning the city-state, and any citizen of that city-state who chose not to join the council when their turn to serve came would be put to death. The French Revolution lead to a short period of democratic practices that drove ordinary Frenchmen to become involved in the political process, albeit not without a lot of corruption and many people losing their heads – literally.

But no matter how ugly this election has gotten on the campaign trail, the interview session, or getting people on the voting rolls by any means necessary, do not think that a single person’s vote does not count. No matter who you vote for or how confident you feel about the candidate you support, voting is the best way for a single person to show the direction the country should go.

Votes are the answers to the question of what needs to be done in a democracy, and everyone that is a legal adult is entitled to make their voice heard, no matter how unpopular they may be. How do you think candidates for some of the most oddball platforms, like legalizing marijuana or advocating prohibition, make it on the ticket? In fact, you could write yourself in on the ballot and vote for yourself, although your chances of winning are quite slim.

Getting out the vote is much like coaching football: You sometimes need to get in the face of the people you are reaching out to, and reminding them repeatedly is often the best way for them to remember to go out and do the right thing, whether it is placing a ballot sheet in a ballot box or finishing a tackle. The point is you need to make a commitment to complete what you set out to do.

While there have been complaints with how troubling the early voting turnouts have been for certain states that have elected to allow people to vote early, I find that it is better to get the high number of people who will be showing up at the voting booths on Nov. 4 as manageable as possible.

It should seem logical for everyone to do their civic duty and register to vote, but it largely is similar to any household chore like vacuuming or dusting, where you forget to take care of it one day and figure you’ll get to it another day.

Well, like any chore, voting still needs to be done, so let’s get to it!