Activist Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “Our lives begin to end the moment we become silent about the things that matter.” With the 2020 presidential election approaching faster day-by-day, our country faces one of the most important elections in its history. There is more on the line than ever before, and as such, voters all across our community are gearing up and getting ready to utilize their voice. However, amid a world-wide pandemic forcing lockdowns and keeping people at home, it becomes inherently more difficult to vote-- yet, if anything, more important.
Your Vote Matters
Since 1997, the voice of every US citizen above the age of eighteen has never mattered more. When eighteen-year-olds were finally granted the right to vote through a constitutional amendment the expected reaction was a rise in the political engagement of young adults in the United States, and as a result of that, a higher voter-turnout number. Since the 1960 presidential election, there has been a severe decline in the percent of eligible voters who actually voted. A record low was set in 1996, where a mere 49% of eligible voters utilized their voices and went to the polls. The question to be asked, is why?
While issues like voter disenfranchisement, voter ID, and a variety of other laws contribute to a low voting percentage, the largest reason why active and eligible voters don’t vote is because of “closed-primary” voting systems. American politics has morphed into a two-party system- either you vote democrat, or you vote republican, but voters understand that a vote for a minor candidate and party (such as Howie Hawkins of the Green Party) is essentially throwing their vote away. The only issue is, very few voters are exempt from the middle of the spectrum- while 25% of American voters are solely republican, and 27% are solely democrat, an immense 48% of voters don’t directly align with one of those parties. Additionally, many states run a “closed-primary” system for the presidential primaries. Essentially what this means is that if you are unaffiliated with a political party, you are not allowed to take part in that party’s primary, so your vote doesn’t matter until the actual presidential election. So for a massive portion of unaffiliated voters in the United States, they are left with two options- register with and vote for a candidate whose party they don’t entirely support long term, or don’t vote at all until the presidential election- and unfortunately, the latter option is what a large portion of Americans choose. In a two-party system where middle-field voters are essentially thrown out of the equation, a vast portion of America’s voters have a warranted feeling that their vote doesn’t matter. And if they feel their vote doesn’t matter, there's no point using it in the first place.
So at the end of the day, why does your vote matter? While unaffiliated voter suppression is a long-term issue to fix, this year’s election has even more long-term impacts. Voter turnout has begun to increase in recent years, increasing by 11% from the 2014 to 2018 midterms-- and it’s only become more important that we use our voices. In the midst of a global pandemic, a supreme court nomination, a fight for social justice, and dozens of other issues, your vote has never mattered more, not only for the president of this country but for the dozens of other political candidates that deal with issues creating an impact on your every-day life. At the final stage of this election, one where even unaffiliated voters are able to vote for a president, feeling that your vote doesn’t matter is simply false- every voice matters this time around, and every voice needs to be heard.
How To Vote
With such great importance placed on voting, it’s important to understand the process, especially during the electoral changes caused by Covid-19. First, you need to meet a few criteria to be able to vote. In Texas, you are eligible to vote if:
You are a United States citizen
You are a resident of the county where you submit the application
You are at least 17 years and 10 months old, and you are 18 years of age on Election Day
You are not a convicted felon (you may be eligible to vote if you have completed your sentence, probation, and parole)
You have not been declared by a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be either totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote
If you meet all the criteria, then great, you’re eligible to vote. The first thing you need to do is register to vote. This requires completing a voter registration application and returning it to your county election office at least 30 days before the upcoming election date. For Texas this election, the date is October 5th. However, with the coronavirus pandemic forcing people to stay at home, many Americans will be voting by mail for the first time. Only some people in Texas are allowed to, however. Registered voters can qualify to vote by mail if they are:
65 years or older
Cite a disability or an illness (not including fears of Covid-19)
Confined in jail but still eligible to vote
Out of your voting city between the requested date AND through election day
To apply for a mail-in ballot, you must deliver a completed application for ballot by mail to your county elections office. A few weeks later, your ballot will arrive in the mail. The latest to submit your ballot is on Election Day, but with the USPS facing cost-cutting measures and delays, it is best to ask for your ballot and submit the ballot as soon as possible.
Many Americans will still vote in person for this election. So where can you vote? Collin County has dozens of different polling locations set up to maximize voting opportunities. You can find a full, larger, list here, but the areas listed below are some of the major voting sites in different zip codes inside of Plano, TX:
Carpenter Park Recreation Center: 6701 Coit Rd, Plano, TX, 75024
Daffron Elementary School: 3900 Preston Meadow Dr, Plano, TX, 75093
Davis Library: 7501A Independence Pkwy, Plano, TX, 75025
Haggard Library: 2501 Coit Rd, Plano, TX, 75075
McMillen High School: 750 N Murphy Rd, Plano, TX, 75094
Whether you are eligible to vote in 2020 or not, it’s important to stay educated on the candidates that are running to serve our country. For current adults, those candidates are the people you’ll be voting for, and for current students, those are the candidates that most of you will one day be voting for. That’s why voter education is so important, and getting involved with the election process outside of voting is imperative to making a good, informed vote. One option is the presidential debates, in which both candidates will argue in favor of their policies and against those of the other. Those debates will be aired live on TV on these dates:
September 29: Presidential Debate Moderated by Chris Wallace
October 7: Vice Presidential Debate Moderated by Susan Page
October 15: Presidential Debate Moderated by Steve Scully
October 22: Presidential Debate Moderated by Kristen Welker
Another option is the campaigns. While the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris and Donald Trump-Mike Pence campaign websites are easily available on the internet, what many don’t realize is that elections for local officials are also coming up very soon- and the dozens of officials voted in to make an impact on the daily things we do in our lives, so while it’s important to stay educated on large-scale national topics, it is arguably just as important to learn about local, community-level policies. At the end of the day, you want to make an informed vote. It doesn’t take much time out of a day to watch a debate or to read an article, and all of it will contribute to understanding and voting for the candidate you want, regardless of who it may be.
Ultimately, Martin Luther King is correct. The more we disregard our election, the more we forgo the electoral process, and the more we stay silent about the issues we feel passionate about, that is the moment that change stops happening. Living in a country with democracy, we often take for granted the fact that every citizen here has a voice in what happens regarding this nation’s government- and to create change, every person’s voice, including yours, must be heard. With this information, there’s only one step left: Vote!
Written By: Abhinav Chellury and Justin Zhu
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