Thoughts on Voting From Somebody Who Doesn't

I have never before voted in any election for the United States of America, and I do not plan on voting in any election within the near future. I have been registered to vote a few times in the past due to pressure from others, but I never went to the voting booth when Election Day would come around. I have nothing against voting. Whenever I see people waiting in long lines for hours on end only to cast a simple vote, I really do feel jealous in a way. I don’t feel jealous for their ability to go out and vote, but for their sheer commitment and dedication to performing this simple service in order to be a good citizen for their country.

Ever since I was a young child, I had been told by everyone I knew that voting was an important duty to perform. They would tell me that voting is the essence of what it means to be an American living in this great country that truly is the land of the free and the home of the brave. What I learned in school would always corroborate what I was told about voting, and even the shows that I watched on television seemed to encourage the ideal of voting for your country. While voting was not the main thing I wanted to do when I finally came of age, I was still excited to finally turn eighteen years of age and be able to vote in the next election. I was so very excited to finally be able to participate in something that had been hyped up for me since I was a young child. However, over some time, I slowly but surely became less and less fond of the idea of voting.

One of the hardest blows to my faith in the American ideal of voting as a rite of citizenship was learning some simple American political history. I have always enjoyed learning the history of government and politics all around the world, including our own country of the United States of America. While watching a documentary on the history of American elections, I heard what had happened in the presidential race of 2000 that was Bush vs. Gore. In the documentary, the fact was but a mere few seconds, but it changed what I knew about voting. Although Al Gore had won the popular vote, George W. Bush ended up winning the election that year. I am not stating a preference for either one of the candidates, but one would expect Gore to win the election after having the popular vote. It was due to the Electoral College that Bush had won the presidency that year. As it turns out, electors who are a part of the Electoral College in the United States of America are never under any obligation to follow the popular vote and can choose whichever candidate they please. I found this incredibly disheartening. The votes put in by the rest of the American population meant nothing, and never do on any other election year. There could be a year in which there is an overwhelming majority of votes for one candidate, but if the electors of the Electoral College prefer the other candidate, then it will be that candidate who ends up winning the election.

This is the main reason why I absolutely refuse to take part in any elections. If I ever did vote, it would feel like nothing more than taking part in an online poll that has no consequence on anything. As long as the Electoral College is being used in our country, I truly believe that there is no point in going out to vote. This is why I wish I still had the enthusiasm that most people do when going out to cast their vote on Election Day. Other than this, another reason I do not vote is likely that I never see any candidates that I have excessive approval of which would make me go out and place my vote for them. So, until the Electoral College is abolished or Clint Eastwood runs for president, I doubt that any of you will end up seeing me waiting to vote on Election Day.