Up North Progressive

Everyone knows that midterm elections have poor turnout in the United States and Michigan is no exception. People don’t feel motivated. The elections are local and state races and sometimes there isn’t much information available about candidates. Your vote still matters. You also need to take some responsibility and learn about local issues and candidates and what they want to do if elected. Not voting means people who depend on you to stay home have a much easier time pushing their agenda on you. Rick Snyder won the 2010 election thanks in part to the lowest voter turnout in years. Four years later and look where the state is, ranked one of the highest in unemployment, old people and poor people pay more taxes while the rich get tax cuts, a billion dollars cut from our public schools and a governor who thinks we do fracking right. These are the consequences of not voting.

So let’s take a look at some of the standard excuses and why Republicans want you to think this way about elections. When you stay home they win.

My vote won’t make a difference.

If every person who said this actually voted it would make a huge difference. Your vote can’t count unless you actually use it. Elections can be won with only a few votes, especially in local elections where only a few hundred people may be voting. You don’t like the guy running for township clerk? If you stay home all of the people who do like him will make sure he’s elected. The person you did like needed you to vote for them, and that’s why they lost.

I don’t know who my candidates are.

If you don’t read the newspaper or watch TV, there are Internet sources that can help you out with that. The Secretary of State website can help you check to see if you’re registered, and even show you which candidates are running in your precinct and what ballot measures you will need to vote on. If you don’t read, watch TV or listen to the radio, then you might notice all those signs with people’s names popping up in your neighbors’ lawns. Those are the names of people running for election where you live. You could also ask someone who knows. The people with signs in their yard probably have an idea.

There are no close races in my district, so why bother?

The reason why there are no close races is because you’re not getting out of your chair and going to the polling station to vote. Republicans LOVE it when voters stay home, because that means their chances of winning elections improves. This is why we have U.S. Congressional Districts where incumbent candidates don’t really need to campaign and they’re guaranteed to win. Often, these candidates only win by a few votes, and that would change if more people went to their precinct and voted.

I don’t know anything about the candidates.

Do you live in a cave in the mountains? The only mountains we have in Northern Michigan are the Porkies in the UP and they’re not that big. We have television, radio, and the Internet with information available if you take the time to look. Candidates have been out knocking on doors, sending emails if you’re on their email list, sending actual mail to your home, and scheduling events where you can meet them if you want. It’s hard to travel anywhere these days without seeing signs in people’s front yards or along the side of the road.

I don’t have the time to vote.

Yes you do. Think of everything you do when you get out of work. Do you go straight home, or do you run errands first? Why can’t stopping at the polling station be one of those errands you run before going home on November 4? If you can’t stand in line, you’re attending school out of the precinct you’re registered to vote, will be out of town on election day, or can’t stand in line for health reasons you have until November 1 to apply for an absentee ballot. The ballot must be filled out and turned in no later than 8 pm on November 4. If you apply for one now you will have it before the election, and all you have to do is fill it out and put it in the mail. You get to vote and don’t have to stand in line.

I don’t vote because it’s my way to fight the system.

What exactly is the system? It’s a vague term people use to label something they don’t really understand and hide their ignorance so they can sound like they know what they’re talking about. Really champ, and how did you fight the system yesterday? What are you going to do tomorrow to show dumb system likers you’re fighting for real democracy? Staying home and doing nothing means somebody else gets to make decisions for you. You make Russel Brand proud. The incumbent who needs you to stay home so they can win another term of office without doing anything are the ones enjoying that system you think you’re fighting by not voting.

Remember, staying home is a great way to make sure we keep things just the way they are. Things just the way they are means continued raising taxes on the elderly and working poor, continued high unemployment, continued funding cuts to our public schools, continued privatization of services that put more people out of work, and more emergency managers who collect six figure salaries but accomplish absolutely nothing. Aren’t you fed up yet? You need to get out and vote on November 4. You’re helping no one staying home, especially yourself.