Why should you vote in the 2014 election?
Voting in the upcoming 2014 election can or will have an impact on the 2016 election and the next two years. The support for making this statement lays in the fact that 1/3 of the Senate is up for re-election and the entire House of Representatives. Individuals that are re-elected or replaced can impact government actions over the next two years and possibly the control of the Senate. This will occur if changes in the political makeup take place. The same is true for the House of Representatives.
Many problems are facing our country today and voting in any election is a privilege and one we as citizens and voters must take advantage of to voice our opinion of the actions of those who have held office. If we disagree with the decisions they have made and we have a better choice we should choose to replace them. Before making this type of decision we must understand that as private citizens we may not necessarily agree with all the decisions made and that we may not know all the details on the reasons the decisions were made. Decisions which involve national security is one of those areas but in other instances we should have the information as to why our elected officials voted the way they did. It is up to our elected officials to inform us of their reason. Granted this is a difficult task as there are many decisions made by our elected officials each year but if we question their reasoning they should respond. Our elected officials are there to represent us for the issues facing our country not to arbitrarily support their individual party affiliation. While political party positions may fall in line with how we feel this is not the case in every instance.
Many individuals today feel their votes do not make a difference so they ask themselves why vote this election year. The answer is an important one. Our history is filled with several instances where voting in close elections made a difference. In some instances one vote in each county in a state made a difference between a candidate losing or winning an election. Another example involved a Presidential election where a candidate went to bed thinking he had won the election only to wake up finding out that he lost. The votes in the state of California changed the projected result of the election. Even newspapers already had headlines printed for a different winner in the election.
Elections always have surprises and the 2014 election is sure to be no different. The importance of voting this year is more critical than ever with the path of our country at a critical step. The size of government is growing along with the size of our debt. The increased interest in this election year appears to be unlike any other in our history with so much on the line. The importance of this election can be seen in the political ads not only from the Republicans but from the Democrats as well. Each party is making efforts to pitch their position on the issues and their success will depend upon how voters react to the content of the advertisements hitting the media.
Voting to some extent is something Americans find hard to get excited about based on previous election experiences they may have had. I can understand this reaction but voters must realize that voicing their opinion on the issues through their votes sends a signal to those they elect. One thing is certain we have company in the views we have and when enough of us voice those views through our votes we can and will make a difference. I do not take much stock in most polls that are conducted these days or even in the past for I feel they do not necessarily reflect the views of voters accurately. The one thing about polls is that the outcome in any election can be totally different than polls conducted as late as a week before the election. Voters can change their minds based on events or statements and those who take polls may not provide their true position.
Our country began on simple but important values which are exhibited in the Constitution. Individuals who came to this country wanted something different for themselves and their families. As time passed more and more individuals were given the right to vote. This did not occur out of the goodness of those who already had this right but a reaction to opinions that others deserve the right to make decisions for them and our country. We are a nation comprised of many different ethnic origins and with that many understand the importance of voting and why it can or will make a difference. Voting in other countries does not compare to our political system in what voters can and have accomplished in the past with their votes.
One striking change in political power in Washington came in the 2010 mid-term elections where Republicans drastically changed the balance of power in the House of Representatives. This is why we as voters must get energized this election year. Those who voted wanted a change in Congress and the current bottleneck in getting legislation passed through cooperation of both parties is hurting our country. The bottleneck still exists and may well exhibit a change in the political structure of both houses of Congress as in the 2010 mid-term election. Congress does not have a favorable opinion in the eyes of the public and when the public is not satisfied with something changes can occur. This happens with the votes we cast. Good ideas are present on both sides of the isle we just need to elect individuals who will stand on their principles and have a desire to make things right for America again.
The culture in Congress and in some states need to change and that change will only happen if voters express their dissatisfaction through their votes. We must be careful though in making sure the change we want is expressed in our votes. We need to vote for those individuals who want to get back to core Constitutional principles through a smaller more efficient government. This can occur through choosing the right individuals from both political parties. Neither party has a lock on what needs to be done but individuals do. Individuals make up Congress and the individuals we elect this year must exhibit a philosophy of change in how government operates and how they would approach making that change. Regardless of who is elected it will not be easy. We as voters must stand on our principles and continue to inform those we elect that we will not forget if they abandon the principles on which we elected them. The votes we cast in 2014 will impact the philosophy of what the federal government should do and not do within the authority given it in the Constitution. This election will be a test to the will of the voter in how strongly they want a change and wanting to make the change happen. Granted it is only 2013 but the election in 2014 will be here before we know it and we must be prepared to elect individuals who will work to make the changes we want to see.
