Get Out and Vote!
Many Michigan residents are getting ready to vote in the forthcoming November election, but unfortunately not every resident. Voting is one of the most effective ways to make your voice and opinion heard on a variety of vital topics.
In the age of term limits, it’s more important than ever to select candidates who agree with your political positions. These candidates are the ones who will represent you and help make decisions for Michigan. Many of the proposals listed on the ballot can drastically impact your life and deserve your attention.
Voting is not only your right, but also your responsibility as a Michigan resident. It has only been 86 years since the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. African American men were given the right to vote by the fifteenth amendment in 1869, but many states found ways to prohibit minority voting participation with tests and other qualifiers. This was a normal thing of life until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 authorized the federal government to assume control of the voter registration process in any state or voting district that in 1964 had employed a literacy or other qualifying test and in which fewer than half of voting age residents had either registered or voted.
Why give up that right because of apathy or laziness?
Voting is a privilege that many people fought hard for and too many take for granted. The next time you choose not to vote, ask yourself how you would feel if you didn’t have a choice. What if you didn’t have a choice to decide who governs you, who represents you in the government? What if you had no voice in legislative decisions that affect your life?
So when November 7 rolls around, you know what you need to do – go to the polls and vote! If you aren’t registered, please visit this site and register. You need to do so before October 10 if you want to vote this year.
October 6th, 2006 at 12:55 pm
I completely agree; voting is a responsibility for all citizens. Come November 8, I hope that women in particular will remember the long, hard fight that generations of women before us fought, helping to give us the opportunities that we have today. I certainly will remember when I vote this November.
October 19th, 2006 at 8:12 pm
Me too! In fact, though in body I’ll be on the other side of the world for this year’s election, my husband and I filled out our absentee ballots tonight and are committed to researching our thoughts and having our voice heard. Michigan needs concerned citizens.