Less than two weeks and counting to Election Day. I’m still not planning to vote.
There’s a chance I’ll do it just to get it over with, because that’s what it feels like to have the right to vote. I have the right, so I might as well do it, even though I don’t feel committed to either candidate or party.
Every headline is about how crucial this election is. Everybody is talking about how important it is to participate in the democratic process and how each person’s vote can tip the scales for who ends up sitting in the Oval Office.
However, “the most critical election ever” rhetoric is said about every election regardless of who is running or what the pressing issues of the day are. For me, this argument doesn’t matter much.
Then there’s the debacle of the issues salient to me vs. what the candidates are actually running on. Securing the border isn’t an issue that concerns me as much. The rhetoric of “every state suddenly being a border state” doesn’t persuade me, even though I understand that there are reasons why voters should be concerned about immigration. Either they are going to finish building the fence or not, and the states are too far away for me to really care about (I’m still hoping that if they say border security enough times, it will somehow get rid of student loan debt. A girl can dream, right?).
Another issue is a woman’s right to her body and protecting her ability to receive health care. As someone who identifies as female, this issue is important, but the presentation is convoluted. The issue of a woman’s right to her body is a part of health care. Why are we not considering overhauling the entire health care system so that people have the option of any medical treatments they want rather than just selecting one issue to focus on?
There are mentions of expanding existing medical care programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. To me, that’s not the same as the creation of a health care system in which all people, regardless of their demographics, can receive the quality care they need at a reasonable price.
There are other issues too. The cost of living is increasing alongside consumer debt and student loans – all topics I care about. Yet, it’s the same as the other issues I’ve mentioned. I don’t agree with how the politicians want to deal with them, or I agree with some of what the Republicans propose and part of what the Democrats propose. Yet, I agree with neither of them entirely.
Even if I did agree with most of what one party has planned, I don’t have a lot of confidence that any of it would get done. From the elections I’ve been eligible to vote in, I think much of what candidates run on gets sidelined when they actually get to the White House, and the administration just makes policy changes to address the issues of the day.
Yes – that is what should happen when a president takes office. That still doesn’t instill confidence that my vote actually counts for something other than going through the motions of exercising my right.
Perhaps I’ll change my mind at the last second and decide to cast a vote. Then I’ll be voting for the candidate who kinda-sorta ticks enough of the boxes to get my support, but I know much of it won’t happen in the long run anyway. All of that, plus whoever’s political ads aren’t annoying me anytime I try to watch a football game or a YouTube video, will probably get my vote.
At least I’ll get a sticker out of it.
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Lilly Appelfeller is an MBA student in the Farmer School of Business after graduating from Northern Kentucky University with her B.S. in business administration. She is a writer for the opinion section of The Miami Student. In addition, she also writes her own screenplays and is a member of the Alpha Phi Omega Chapter at Miami University.
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