Does Voting Matter?

Voting is one of the fundamental parts of “American Democracy”.  When people think of America, they often think about how everyone has the right to vote and voice their own opinions—unlike many other countries in the world.  Voting certainly does matter; as many of our ancestors have died just so future generations could have the right and blessing to vote.  Even if you think that your vote does not count, it really does.

            Voting matters because, as a United States citizen, you have the right to choose whom you think will best govern our country.  Even though it may seem like your single vote does not really have any effect on the election as a whole, it does.  Your vote could be the vote that breaks the tie in the election, and it contributes to your candidate’s total number of votes no matter what.  If only a few people showed up to vote, then who would be choosing the leaders of our country?  We would be leaving that decision up to the few people who actually did decide to vote.  This fact certainly does not represent democracy as a whole and does not effectively represent the views of all U.S. citizens. 

    Finally, voting matters because it allows the people to have some control in the government.  Government should not be able to completely control and regulate our lives, and government itself is regulated by the people’s vote.  In order for a candidate to be re-elected, he must at least attempt to listen to his constituency and show his constituency that he truly does care about those people.  If he refuses to listen or simply does not do a good job while in office, his chances of being re-elected are certainly in jeopardy.  Also, voting gives the American people a significant voice in government in who we think should be leading the country and how those leaders should handle themselves.