The time is fast approaching for students registered to vote either to send in absentee voter ballots or exercise their right to vote in person. Yet like other college-aged students, too many Hillsdale students will forego that right. Even worse, a large number of those foregoing the right to vote don’t even believe it matters. This is a huge problem.
When the Founders drafted the Constitution in 1787, they created a government radically different from any other government ever conceived. In it, the government’s rights were derived from the consent of the governed, and those people elected their representatives and executive. Understanding that voting was an integral part of this new government, they took it very seriously. Alexander Hamilton said that “voting at elections is one of the most important rights of the subject.” Samuel Adams went even further: “Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote . . . that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.” If the creators of our regime emphasized the importance of voting, why do some citizens believe it doesn’t matter 237 years later? Some are apathetic, others think it’s statistically irrelevant, while still others say there are no candidates worth voting for.
Exercising the right to vote is not ignoring the often-disheartening reality of the American political system. Politics is screwed up right now. It’s true that politics doesn’t drive culture, and merely reflects it. But our government is also too vital a portion of culture to abandon. Because government protects our life, liberty, and property, we cannot neglect government and political activity. You don’t fix a problem by ignoring it. You engage with the problem and address it head-on. Politics is certainly part of the problem, but this is no excuse for apathy. By staying aloof of the political system, you’re tacitly saying that voting and the direction of governance isn’t important to you. President Calvin Coolidge understood the dangers of this position: “If the people fail to vote, a government will be developed which is not their government.” Therefore, a responsible citizenry must be educated about current issues and consistently vote in elections.
The belief that voting is statistically irrelevant is also counterproductive. Focusing solely on the mathematical aspect of voting ignores its solemnity as a duty of all citizens that Hamilton and Adams understood so well. Further, this statistical perspective can mislead. The voter turnout in many elections is low enough that races are often won and lost based off of which candidate can turn its base.
Finally, a shortage of candidates that are “worth voting for” isn’t a legitimate reason to disengage from politics either. If the candidates aren’t entirely corrupt, then citizens can seek to elect the best and hold them accountable. A group of citizens abstaining from the vote won’t stop the election of new government leaders, so citizens ought to participate in the process. If the field of candidates becomes exceedingly reprehensible, then it is the responsibility of moral citizens to run for a position themselves or endorse someone else whose views are in line with theirs. Citizen statesmanship is vital because our form of government guarantees us only the right to choose our own leaders, not that those seeking leadership will be good.
In our political system, a relatively small number of unified, engaged, and fiercely determined citizens can make a significant difference. Though millions vote, a comparatively small group of politically active individuals such as party officials, special interests, and political strategists can control America’s fate. How else does one explain the tidal wave of “Tea Party” candidates voted into office during the 2010 midterm elections by a group of citizens angry with the rapid growth of government?
Voting is important. Upright citizens with sufficient political will can effect political change. Not every election will be a victory, but the country will move in the right direction with a more engaged citizenry more responsible for its government. The choice is up to the citizenry. Citizens could turn their backs on voting. But President Coolidge knew this choice could only lead to one end: “Unless citizens perform their duties [by voting], such a system of government is doomed to failure.”
