After almost two years, we are a little over a month from Election Day here again in Minnesota. It’s been a long process, with primaries, news articles and constant advertisements competing for our attention. It can sometimes feel like too much. It seems politics is everywhere and taking over our lives. While I share in this election fatigue, I also believe we should make sure this November we all do our civic duty and go vote.
I say this because Sept. 25 was National Voter Registration Day, and it’s an important reminder of how important voting and civic engagement is to our nation. One of the most defining characteristics of our republic is we get to choose our leaders. Kings aren’t coronated and dictators do not force their way into power. In America, we the people get the decision, through who we elect, of where our country is going to go.
This is why voting is so important, and why it is so sad to me we have such low voter turnout compared to the rest of the world. In 2020, we had 66.8 percent of voters nationwide turn out to vote for President, our country’s leader and head of the executive branch. This was the highest turnout in the 21st century but we can still do better. When you decide not to vote, you effectively count your voice out of the decisions that are being made in the U.S. Capitol, the state capitol or the city council. And the fewer people who vote, the narrower the subset of people politicians will focus on in order to gain their votes instead.
No matter which side you are on, it can be depressing and disheartening seeing all of the dysfunction and acrimony that characterizes our political system today. It seems like too many of our leaders would rather fight and bicker with each other than come up with solutions that can benefit our country and state. Too often, good ideas are often attacked reflexively based on who proposed them, and blame gets thrown around with no responsibility taken. It’s easy to throw our hands up and walk away from the whole process.
But the process won’t get any better unless we do something. And that something is voting. The good thing about our world today is registering to vote and voting itself is easier than ever. Registering to vote takes less than five minutes online with a driver’s license or state ID. Excuse-free absentee ballots are already available, meaning whether you’re going to be out of town on election day or want to skip the lines, you can do so. If you want to vote on the big day itself, Minnesota also allows for same-day registration. In short, there’s really no excuse not to vote.
My vote won’t make a difference though, some will say. I would beg to differ. In Minnesota alone there have been many close elections, including races for governor, senator and state senator in St. Cloud that were decided by a couple hundred votes. That’s the size of a small town, or a dozen extra voters in each of our state’s 87 counties. And think about that if all of the 33.2 percent of registered voters who didn’t vote in 2020 turned out this year, results could be massively different.
So don’t think of yourself as one person, talk to your family, neighbors and coworkers about getting out to vote. Make sure you know the candidates and how their policies would affect you and vote for those people you believe will do the best job. If we all make an effort to turn out and participate in our democratic process, we might be surprised as to what our voices and votes can do.
Connor Kockler recently graduated from St. John’s University. He enjoys writing, politics and news, among other interests.