Voting isn’t easy, but educated people need to do it anyway

Re: “When the choices are bad, not voting is understandable,” by Aaron Hill, Oct. 23

Your article regarding why people should understand your apathy toward voting left me quite disturbed.

Your first point concerned the weight of an individual’s vote. While it is true that individual votes do not make a difference in the grand scheme, this does not mean there is no point in voting. There will always be ignorant people who vote without understanding the implications, but it is everyone’s responsibility to counter such detrimental votes with informed ones.

You also said it is difficult to sift through the propaganda and uncover the real issues a politician represents. If you want voting to be easy, I suppose you would like a ballot that has “good” or “bad” in parentheses next to the candidates’ names. Or perhaps you would like a dictatorial ballot with only one candidate and you choose “yes” or “no/death?” If you take the easy path and listen to recommendations, you are only choosing what others have decided represents their views best.

If you want to decide who represents your views best, it is your responsibility to research that information. If you think a little research is too much effort, then you are not ready for the responsibilities of voting.

Lastly, you stated that “maybe through inaction and non-participation” politicians might get the message that people want the system to change.

You are not the first person to think this, and it obviously has not worked. I do not think Simón Bolívar sat around in Latin America and said, “Let’s just wait until Spain realizes they should give the people their independence.”

Changes come when people act. Protest, write letters, join campaigns and become involved. People all over the world die struggling for the right to be recognized by their government; the right to participate in it is a distant dream for many. Utilize this right you take for granted, and use your vote to make changes. When educated people become disillusioned and abstain from voting, the only people left voting and determining everyone’s futures are those who shouldn’t be.

Kaitlyn Bacca is a senior majoring in international studies and Spanish.

Don’t rely on ads to figure out who you vote for

Re: “When the choices are bad, not voting is understandable,” by Aaron Hill, Oct. 23

I was outraged when I read the article “When the choices are bad, not voting is understandable” by Aaron Hill. It’s very upsetting to hear people say, “I don’t like either candidate, so I’m not going to vote.”

It’s even more disturbing to listen to people telling others to do the same thing. Not voting isn’t going to do a thing, and Congress won’t care. Government officials aren’t going to say, “Hey, we need to change so these people vote.”

In response to the point that it’s hard to see what politicians truly believe because of ads – don’t rely on ads and do some research. Go online and look at the candidate’s voting record if they’re an incumbent.

I hate how people only look at the Republican and Democratic candidates. There are other candidates. If people are sick of politicians voting for bills set up by lobbyists, then they should do something. Organize and put pressure on Congress, for example. If there was a public outcry and people went to Washington, they could get things accomplished.

Show me when in history inactivity solved anything. Instead of sitting around complaining that you don’t like the candidates running for office – that they don’t care about you or pass bills that don’t benefit you – do something.

Ashley Watkins is a freshman majoring in accounting.