Unless You’ve been living under a rock, you know there’s an election going on. With all the derisive political ads, rallies, and campaign signs constantly around; elections can be a stressful time. Sometimes, it may seem better to just throw your hands up and not get involved. However it is our duty as American citizens to participate in the political process. In this article, I will explain how your vote counts, and why it’s important to perform this civic duty.
On Tuesday, November 5th, millions of Americans will flock to the polls to make their opinion heard. This year is a general election, these types of elections occur every four years. During the general election, Americans vote for president and vice president. Political parties have nominated a candidate at their party’s national convention, which is how the candidates names get on the general election ballot. The candidates then selected a running mate, which will be their vice president. This year our presidential candidate for the Republican party is Former President Donald Trump, and his vice president pick is James David Vance. Our presidential candidate for the Democratic party was President Joe Biden, however he later stepped down and was replaced by our current vice president, Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris then chose Tim Walz as her running mate.
Whether you vote Right, Left, or Center; its important to know how your vote counts. In Michigan, we count our votes for president in a winner-take-all fashion. Whichever candidate gets the majority of votes in our state will win all of our electoral votes. Political parties select people from each state to be electors, in the case that their candidate wins the majority of the popular vote in that state. In Michigan we have fifteen electoral votes. There are 538 electoral votes to be one nation wide, and a candidate needs 270 votes to win.
Even though the presidential election gets the most attention, there are many other important state and local offices we vote on during the general election. We are voting for our Michigan Senator in the U.S. Congress, the most notable candidates are Elissa Slotkin (Democrat) and Mike Rogers (Republican).
We are voting for our District 8 Michigan Representative in the U.S. Congress; candidates include Kristen Mcdonald Rivet (Democrat), and Paul Junge (Republican). We are also voting for two seats in our Michigan State Supreme Court; the nominees are Kimberly Thomas and Kyra Harris (Democrats), and Andrew Fink and Patrick W. O’Grady (Republicans). We’re also voting for a number of local offices, including our MPPS School Board.
Many people believe that one vote is practically insignificant, however we know from history that is not so; especially in Michigan. Michigan is often called a swing-state, which means that it can swing back and forth between parties during different elections. This is very different from a state like New York, which is almost guaranteed to vote Democrat. The presidential polls, which can help determine who a population in a state will vote for, have been split down the middle in Michigan for some time now, and don’t seem to be changing anytime soon. Which party our electoral votes will be given to could be determined by a very small number of votes, make sure your voice is heard!
Despite political differences, all Americans should be able to agree that the right to participate in government though voting is a special one that we should not take for granted. It is our civic duty to exercise this right in the way that we think is best for the country. If you know someone who is registered to vote, make sure you convince them to get to the polls tomorrow. Make your voice heard and get that sticker!
