Eighteen years, two hundred, sixteen months, six thousand, five hundred, seventy-four days; give or take. That’s how long American citizens wait to cast their vote for our democracy. In the past, voting was a highly regarded event, freshly eighteen-year-olds wearing their stickers with pride, and while that still exists, voting is an event that is lost on the average eighteen-year-old mind. The importance of casting your ballot has never left, but it seems the public interest in voting has significantly dropped. A disturbing 40.96% of eligible voters voted in the general November elections last year, as opposed to the 66.7% of the population voting in the presidential election according to the Virginia Department of Elections.
Why do people choose not to vote? Is it the supposed fraud in the ballots? Ignorance? Lack of public knowledge in politics? What causes Americans to stop voting, and surrender their vote? I believe that it’s due to the shift in political discussion to a less formal version of politics. The lack of respect the candidates have for each other seems to mirror the respect the public has for the candidates who could be elected to run our nation. Over time, with that loss of respect for candidates, the decline of voting numbers has dropped significantly.
The integrity of our voting system has been challenged on multiple occasions with many claims against the election system. These false claims come from high-power politicians such as former President Donald Trump and hurt our democracy, sometimes doing early damage and taking votes from both parties. If every election is “rigged” what’s the point in casting your vote anyway? Another issue is voter intimidation when possible voters stay away from polls out of fear of retaliation. Examples include flashing, presenting oneself as an election official, harassment outside of voting offices, and the spread of false information about voting requirements such as certain types of photo identification and the need to speak English (both are untrue and are not factors needed to vote on election day).
“Whether you vote early, absentee, by mail, or in person, we are going to protect the vote. That’s the most important thing we have to do; protect the vote. Keep your eyes open because these people want to cheat and they do cheat. And frankly, it’s the only thing they do well,” Donald Trump said. Donald Trump is a strong advocate of the unsubstantiated claim that elections are being cheated, spreading lies and disinformation to his followers who believe without a second thought that he is truthful when these facts say otherwise.
But, let’s be clear: the election was not stolen, and the votes were not rigged. It was the most secure election in history. Just look at the numbers, Biden won an exact 81,283,098 and Trump won 74,222,958 votes.
Believe the numbers.
