As an American Citizen voting is not only your right, it is your responsibility, and it is one of the most important, and sadly under-utilized, responsibilities we have.
Voting was established by the founders of our great nation as a way to ensure that your voice was heard by the politicians in charge of our country. All 18 year old American citizens have the right to register in the community where they live, usually by going to the city hall. Many young voters register when they get their driver’s license. Some states allow mail-in registration or mobile registrars who set up tables at shopping centers or community events.
Election outcomes are determined by those who participate. Elected officials make important (often life and death) decisions about how our society will expend its collective resources and the restraints it will place on individual behavior. The drinking age, the age at which you can get a driver’s license, and the amount of money your teachers receive are some of the decisions made by elected officials. In making those decisions, elected officials respond to people who bother to vote more than to those who abstain. Voting does not guarantee that one’s preferences will prevail, but choosing not to vote denies a person one of they key tools of having a say in a democracy.
Visit OurTime.org to see how you can register in your community or even online.
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