Why You Should Vote

This serves as a reminder to all of those, especially millennials to vote November 6. Each us have the power to change the course of this or their country. You are one of the luckiest people who have the freedom to vote and it is a responsibility. Over the years, people,  women and minorities have died, marched, boycotted, suffered, picketed, been jailed, tortured because they believed in the right to vote.

Voting is a right of political participation and citizenship. Your vote, no matter what it is, says you can be heard, you can make a change.

• 22 (out of 195) countries made voting is mandatory. Some countries you can even get fined if you don’t vote.
• The Vatican women cannot vote because only cardinals can be men.
• Lebanon, women can only vote if they prove that they have had elementary education.
• Saudi Arabia, women just got the right to vote in 2015. But they have few elections and it is a monarchy in which the King can overrule any election.
• Pakistan: Women were given the vote in 1956, but in some areas community and religious leaders have prevented women from voting. In the 2013 elections, Leaflets were circulated  warning men not to allow female family members to vote because it was “un-Islamic.” The practices continued in 2015 local elections.
• Kenya: Human Rights Watch published a report in 2017 documenting the sexual violence against women in Kenya’s elections. Unfortunately incidents like these are a growing trend violence against women in elections.
• 20 (out of 195)Countries in the world in which you cannot vote.

The 24 Million millennials who voted in 2016 were only 50% of the potential voters. What could have happened if there were another 24 million voters?

For those millennials and others who did not vote, this is your future. Do you really want your children to grow up no national parks? Do you really want your children to grow up with polluted water? Do you really want your children to grow up wearing masks to contradict air pollution? Do you really want the wealthy to pay less taxes than you?

This video from Robert Reich is a really good message to millennials (and for anyone) on why you should vote.

I hope that all of you come out and vote in the United States on November 6. Lets us all make a difference.

Resources

Pew Resources; Millennials and Gen-xers outvoted boomers and older generations in 2016

ITV News;  10 Facts About Votings

The Conversation : Women’s Votes, 6 Amazing Facts Around the World.