If you are eligible and want to have a say in what your crazy government does, yes. But in reality voting isn’t mandatory nor should it be. Civic duty, not a legal requirement. Yes, for the vast majority of voters, voting is the most important civic duty you have and you should vote if at all possible. Should – not have to.
I’m cynic enough that I’d rather you didn’t vote if you haven’t bothered to find out anything about your community and the election you are going to vote in. Willful ignorance is not a virtue. But the duty remains regardless of how well you did your homework. As long as most of us at least skim the chapter, we’ll get a passing grade.
All that said, it is NOT an obligation.
I encourage all of you – yes, even you in the back that plan to vote for the other guy – ALL of you to vote. It is important and much more powerful than most people realize. I encourage you – I do not order you.
Right, right, most of you who are sitting there thinking “Of course not! You’re not my mother! You can’t tell me what to do!” – you’re right, I have no such authority. Now, settle down.
Okay, okay, couldn’t resist.
I don’t have the authority to order any of you to do anything. The annoying cat trying to take out my video cable is not so lucky. You don’t have to do what I say ’cause I’m not going to chase you around the living room with a broom. Don’t worry, bad knees – the cat only thinks I’m going to kill him and I couldn’t catch him even if I did want to do him broom harm.
So no, you don’t have to vote. Here’s the more important part: you don’t have to vote for anyone or any party that you don’t want to and you never have to tell anyone who you voted for – you have the right to vote your own conscience without worrying about what other people might think.
You can even vote for the Democrats, as much as I might disapprove. Who am I to tell you who to vote for? I have a couple degrees in Political Science and a snarky blog – I ain’t the boss of you!
That cat, however…
My approval or disapproval is irrelevant to anyone’s vote but my own. If you don’t like how I vote, that’s your problem. If I don’t like how you vote, it’s my problem – not yours.
Same goes for anyone else trying to tell you how to vote, or even that you must vote. YOU decide – no one else.
Not even a snarky, cranky, old lady like me.
I saw a commercial – several times, actually – that borders on intimidation. The spokeswoman – assuming she’s real, can’t tell nowadays – goes out of her way to point out, repeatedly, that voting records are public. Whether or not you voted can be seen by others, even if you mailed in your ballot.
It’s true – to a point. Most of your information is not available to the public and it varies by state as to what exactly is in the public record. FindLaw has a good article about this with a good table telling you what is and isn’t available in most states1.
What NO ONE is allowed to see is how you voted no matter what state you live in. But yes, people can see whether or not you voted.
I find that commercial nearly criminal. The implication is ‘we’re watching you, go vote the ‘right’ way’. It’s just mild enough that it could be construed as not being intimidating – but for people who worry about how friends and family view their actions, it is intimidating and I think it’s meant to be.
You can vote however you see fit. It is protected – no one knows how you voted unless you tell them. And you DON’T have to tell them.
So, helpful hint for those that actually worry about this kind of intimidation: turn the question around without answering it. If Bob asks ‘who’d you vote for’ just ask ‘why’re you asking?’. Or, if you know Bob well enough to know that line won’t work, deflect. “Aw man, I did my part and I don’t wanna talk about no dumb politics! Did you catch the game last night?”
Whether or not you vote and who you voted for are entirely YOUR private business. Absolutely no one else’s. Sure, who voted is public record – but is your grandmom really going to go look it up? That annoying friend who has to be in everyone’s business – is he going to even know HOW to look up voter records?
And if he does, why are you friends with that kind of jerk? Might wanna consider finding other people to hang out with if a friend is pressuring you that much – about anything!
Don’t let anyone intimidate you – either way. If you don’t want to vote, that’s your right. If you want to vote, that’s also your right (eligibility rules do apply!). If you want the whole neighborhood to know who you voted for, that’s your right. Makes you the neighborhood weirdo, but it’s still your right. And if you don’t want to tell anyone who you voted for, that is also, very much, 100% YOUR RIGHT!
Even if you decide something this cranky old lady disapproves of – it’s far more important that you decide for yourself what you will do.
I hope you decide to vote but I respect your decision if you don’t. I will try to talk you into voting next time, however! I honestly don’t care if you vote the way I do or not. I only care that you make the best decision that you can and vote accordingly.
And that you don’t pull out the video cable – stupid cat!
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