The verb “vote” comes from the Latin word “Votum”, which meant to vow or wish, which may be a great reminder of exactly what we do when we cast a ballot in an election.
To vow is to make a solemn promise, pledge, or personal commitment. And to wish is to want, desire, or long for something.
When we exercise our right to cast a ballot in an election to choose our next school board members, local mayor, governor, and even president, we are not only giving our consent to follow the decisions made by our representatives (our promise), but we are also declaring the kind of government we want (our desire).
For thousands of years and throughout the world, people did not have the ability to pledge their support and chose their leaders. Regions of the world were conquered, the vanquished subjugated, and the rulers usually did both with violence and punishment.
It’s only been during the past three centuries that free republics formed through revolts, rebellions, and revolution to create governments based on citizens’ consent to be governed by those they chose.
We don’t have a king in America. We don’t have inherited titles and positions of power. We don’t even have requirements for running for president except for being a natural born citizen, at least 35 years of age, and having living in the U.S. for the past 14 years. Basically, nearly anyone can be president, and anyone at least 18 years old can run for any local or state office.
But the choice of who governs us is still ours to make.
It’s easy to shirk that responsibility and say our vote doesn’t matter. In this election, we have even heard that the entire election system is rigged, and the outcome has already been decided, so we shouldn’t vote and should question the outcome.
Nonsense!
They don’t live in a banana republic third-world country where votes are bought and ballot boxes stuffed. Our decentralized system divides the duties of running elections to each county in the country, totaling more than 3,000 across the country. Each county counts and then reports its totals to its Secretary of State. There is simply no way for someone, some group, or even the president, to “rig” the entire election.
Sure, some people have been caught trying to vote twice, vote for someone else, or as what used to happen in Chicago, dead people’s votes would appear on election day. Those cases, however, were both small in numbers — a few thousand votes — and have been made far less likely with computer databases of voter files.
The true reason that politicians still claim voter fraud is because it lowers voters’ confidence in the process, and turns many away from voting, thereby depressing the vote of less committed voters.
Elections are won by generating enthusiasm among core voters and then making sure they cast their votes. Neither party likes casual or uncommitted voters to show up because the outcome of the election is less predictable, meaning both parties worry they will lose.
So the best outcome is to depress the vote, discourage new voters, and turn the campaigns into team warfare, red vs blue, Republican Party vs Democratic Party, us vs them.
And who loses in that election? Regular people living regular, non-political lives.
Just try to talk politics to our disinterested friends. What do they say? “I’m not political so I probably won’t vote!” That’s exactly what the party leaders really want.
And the communities most affected by depressed voter turnout are the already underserved and politically disenfranchised communities like Latinos, African-Americans, and working class families of all races.
Wealthier and higher educated communities vote in much higher numbers, and that presence in the voting pool generates more political clout. These communities, both rich conservative Republicans and rich liberal Democrats, have stronger connections with their respective party and are much more loyal supporters than occasional voters not strongly aligned with either party.
Latinos are the fastest growing voter bloc in the country, and, this year, more than 27.3 million Latinos are eligible to vote, totaling more than 12 percent of all voters. And of Latinos voters, 60 percent are Millennials or Gen Xers, meaning they can vote now and for decades to come.
But if our community doesn’t vote, we give away our political clout. Latinos can shape the outcome of many elections, from local to president, and demand a greater say in what issues are addressed. Immigration reform, education funding, access to health care, and many other social and fiscal issues will be decided for us, with or without our input.
So please vote. Or “vote” in Spanish. Or “votum”.
Make a promise to do more than just wish for a better government, but to help make our own better government.
Election Day is November 8th.