Oct. 28, 2016
OPINIONS
Blueprint 5
The importance of voting for the next US president By Megan Albers, Print Sports Editor Sojna Redowden, Head Copy Editor The election is right around the corner and Americans brains are spinning with decisions as they head to the polls to vote. I honestly don’t care who you vote for as long as you vote. According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, the U.S. has seen a decrease in voters the past couple years. In the 2012 presidential election, there were about 219 million eligible voters but only 126 million of them actually voted. That means that only 57.5% of eligible voters actually voted. In order to change this disappointing pattern, people must show up and vote. When the election comes around, we are reminded of the political equality we have in the U.S. Not only are people in other countries still fighting for this right, but generations of Americans before us have participated in this battle to earn political equality. In the U.S. Constitution, the 15th Amendment states that all citizens have the right to vote regardless of their race or previous condition of servitude. However, many states continued to prevent people from voting. Generations of men and women across the nation have worked their entire lives even laying down their
lives to earn the right to vote. It took until 1920 for women to vote and until 1965 for African Americans to vote without limitations. If you need a reason to vote, do it for them. Do it for each person who risked their lives so that you are protected and allowed to walk into your polling center and drop your ballot in the box. Most Americans’ don’t understand the way the election works. America is a democracy, but to a certain extent. Americans votes are tallied to create the popular vote. However, the popular vote isn’t what decides the winner. In fact, people are voting for a group of people known as electors. These electors decide the actual winner. This system serves as a compromise between the Congress and the people’s vote. This may make most Americans think that they don’t affect the election. However, the popular vote still influences the electors. If the majority of American people vote for a specific president, it will put pressure on the electoral college to please the people. Additionally, since your vote doesn’t have the largest influence on the presidential election, it is important to try and impact the local election. The president won’t be the only one on the ballot. In addition to the president and vice president, there
is one senator, a comptroller, state representatives, state senators and many different judges that will be on your ballot. This is where people can actually affect things around them. Although it’d be unrealistic to expect every American to be aware of all politicians, everyone should strive to participate in both. If you actually want to impact the politics around you, vote locally. I encourage you to vote, but vote intelligently. The right to vote is one of the greatest rights given to us as Americans and we must use it to affect the outcome. Like me, you may be disappointed with the two options we’ve been given. Clinton and Trump don’t really seem appealing, but there is an additional option. In Illinois, we have the right to write in a candidate of our choice. This may make you want to write in a better option such as Gary Johnson, but by doing this you are essentially throwing your vote away and impacting nothing. The simple fact is that with the use of the electoral college, the writein candidate would need to win the popular vote and convince the electors to vote for them. Not only has it never happened, but it’s simply unreasonable. Use your vote to affect the election by voting for Clinton or Trump. We are privileged enough to have representation in our government
Illustration by Claire Wagner
and to make a difference. U.S. citizens often complain about the way our government runs, but then make no effort to go to the polls. You have the ability to use your voice to make an impact on how our country runs and it is important to exercise this ability. I hope to see you at the polls on Nov. 8 using your vote to impact the election.
A 3rd party, a 3rd perspective, a 3rd representative By Jonah Ocuto, Staff Reporter This year’s election is widely believed to be one of the most divisive of all time because of its two candidates: Trump and Clinton. Having more than two candidates or two parties is nearly unheard of in our country due most citizens being raised as either being a democrat, or a republican; with libertarians being the minority, their viewpoint is rarely heard. The Libertarian Party is known to be fiscally conservative, but socially liberal. The party believes in emphasizing “freedom” within all aspects of society, including economic and educational freedom. This would include lowering taxes, decreasing public spending and eliminating the common core. A short survey was sent to select social studies classes asking how much they know about the Libertarian Party, if they believe a third party would benefit the debates and what issues they’re interested in hearing the Libertarian stance on. When asked what they generally know about the Libertarian party, 26.4% of responses stated that they had a general idea of what it was. The second largest demographic was 36.1% responding that they had only heard of them. 35.4% stated they never heard of the party. Only 2.1% responded stating they knew all there was to know about them -- clearly demonstrating that there is a large majority of students that are
Graphic by Jonah Ocuto
Graphic by Jonah Ocuto
uninformed. The next question asked whether or not it was believed that a third party should be included in the debates. 76% of respondents said that the Libertarian party should be included in the debates When asked this, the majority of respondents said yes as well. When given a list of 11 political issues they want to hear the Libertar-
ian stance on, students showed the most interest in immigration, education and gun control. Looking at the first graph, it’s clear that most people have at least heard of the Libertarian party, and a wide majority of students believe that they should be included in the debates. The students at South also want a third choice. It is wrong that students and the general public feel forced to pick
from the lesser of two evils (Trump and Clinton). America was built on the belief that we should protect the minority opinion, and while one could argue that the Libertarian Party is able to voice their opinion, it is obvious that opinion does not receive the same amount of publicity as the others. If America is truly a land of free opinion, how does it make sense to limit the vocalization of other views such as those from a third party? The choice of a third party to me is about more than policy, it’s about what our nation’s values truly are. It’s not about who you vote for in the end - it’s about the fact that you have more than two people to vote for. One of the most common arguments that is brought up against including a third party is the idea that a third party has never benefitted America before, but this is not true. Since America’s founding, there have been multiple parties that aren’t Democratic or Republican, including the Whig and Federalist Party. The inclusion and eventual victory of a third party in the presidential debates -- the Republican Party in 1860 -- gave way to what many Americans consider to be the greatest president of all time, Abraham Lincoln. While Johnson did not make the debates, it is clear from the data received in the poll that the majority of the student body believes that the Libertarian Party should have a chance to at least voice their opinion. In a country that claims to represent the people, why hasn’t the will of the people been represented?