Reasons you need to get out the vote
Yes, yes, I know. It seems like you JUST voted. Also, there’s no huge election to feel like you’re doing something cool. BUT, you need to vote today. Here’s why:
Women’s Suffrage. Ladies, we only finally got the vote in 1920 [Sisters unite!]. Let’s not be those lame people who take something that monumental for granted before even a century has passed. Do you really want to be that jerk who doesn’t take advantage of a right that so many women fought for? Do you? I didn’t think so.
Local Elections. I know it’s great to be part of something huge, something monumental, particularly when your team wins. But. You make a huge difference in local elections, way more of a difference than in national elections, where your popular vote for president is diluted by the Electoral College. Also, wouldn’t it be great to feel like YOUR vote was the deciding factor in hotly contested election? If you vote, you can say it was.
Those Cool Stickers. Do you like feeling smug and better than everyone else? OF COURSE you do. Who doesn’t? Go vote, get one of the cool I VOTED stickers [some counties have awesome ones, but even my lame little flag decorated oval is neat] and place it conspicuously on your person. That way, people will immediately know how impressive you are.
CANDY! Sometimes the old ladies at my voting precinct have candy to give out. Or, if you are still overloaded with leftover Halloween candy, take yours to the good souls who are helping out democracy and give them a sweet treat.
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2 comments:
btw
The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC).
The bill preserves the Electoral College, while assuring that every vote is equal and that every voter will matter in every state in every presidential election.
Elections wouldn't be about winning states. No more distorting and divisive red and blue state maps. Every vote would be counted for and directly assist the candidate for whom it was cast. Candidates would need to care about voters across the nation, not just undecided voters in a handful of swing states.
Now, policies important to the citizens of ‘flyover’ states are not as highly prioritized as policies important to ‘battleground’ states when it comes to governing.
The bill would take effect only when enacted, in identical form, by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes--that is, enough electoral votes to elect a President (270 of 538). When the bill comes into effect, all the electoral votes from those states would be awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC).
The bill uses the power given to each state by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution to change how they award their electoral votes for president.
The bill has been endorsed or voted for by 1,922 state legislators (in 50 states) who have sponsored and/or cast recorded votes in favor of the bill.
In Gallup polls since 1944, only about 20% of the public has supported the current system of awarding all of a state's electoral votes to the presidential candidate who receives the most votes in each separate state (with about 70% opposed and about 10% undecided). The recent Washington Post, Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard University poll shows 72% support for direct nationwide election of the President. Support for a national popular vote is strong in virtually every state, partisan, and demographic group surveyed in recent polls in closely divided battleground states: Colorado-- 68%, Iowa --75%, Michigan-- 73%, Missouri-- 70%, New Hampshire-- 69%, Nevada-- 72%, New Mexico-- 76%, North Carolina-- 74%, Ohio-- 70%, Pennsylvania -- 78%, Virginia -- 74%, and Wisconsin -- 71%; in smaller states (3 to 5 electoral votes): Alaska -- 70%, DC -- 76%, Delaware --75%, Maine -- 77%, Nebraska -- 74%, New Hampshire --69%, Nevada -- 72%, New Mexico -- 76%, Rhode Island -- 74%, and Vermont -- 75%; in Southern and border states: Arkansas --80%, Kentucky -- 80%, Mississippi --77%, Missouri -- 70%, North Carolina -- 74%, and Virginia -- 74%; and in other states polled: California -- 70%, Connecticut -- 74% , Massachusetts -- 73%, Minnesota -- 75%, New York -- 79%, Washington -- 77%, and West Virginia- 81%.
The National Popular Vote bill has passed 31 state legislative chambers, in 21 small, medium-small, medium, and large states, including one house in Arkansas (6), Connecticut (7), Delaware (3), The District of Columbia (3), Maine (4), Michigan (17), Nevada (5), New Mexico (5), New York (31), North Carolina (15), and Oregon (7), and both houses in California (55), Colorado (9), Hawaii (4), Illinois (21), New Jersey (15), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (12), Rhode Island (4), Vermont (3), and Washington (11). The bill has been enacted by the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Washington. These seven states possess 76 electoral votes -- 28% of the 270 necessary to bring the law into effect.
See http://www.NationalPopularVote.com
Can I just say I worked the election yesterday in my home town. I was the one who handed out and accepted your ballots. AND offered you an 'I Voted' sticker. And like 40-50% of people DIDN'T WANT THEM! I was shocked. That's one of the best parts.
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