Dollar Dollar Bills

When considering the 2016 election it's hard not to picture 'big money's' role in electing Trump to office. It seems that a lot of high-profile and wealthy individuals really controlled the vote. An article by Jodi Benenson and Inger Bergom (2019) mentions that there is a trend for people of higher socio-economic status (SES) to vote more frequently than those in lower SES. This, I think, is tied in with the national narrative that 'my vote doesn't matter.' According to The Pew Research Center (2017), 15% of the people who were registered to vote and did not vote abstained because they felt that their vote would not make a difference.

I feel that there are a lot of people who assumed that their vote wouldn't matter because the wealthy and powerful were monopolizing the vote. That the people who held higher SES had more agency, more access to resources, and more political power. I think back to the issue of 'the 99%' and with regard to voting, it is a similar premise. These people near the top hold so much power, it can make 'the 1%' feel like their votes are insignificant. It's no secret that a lot of people are severely unhappy with Trump's management of our country, but we can't simply complain and not do anything about it. Without people turning up to vote, this trend will repeat itself.

I know that one really important hurdle that a lot of people stumble over is voter registration and turning in a ballot. While that is significantly important and those issues should be adressed, I feel like those that are in that lower SES, and are already registered, and feel that they don't have the agency to affect the result of an election should understand that their vote has power. It may not seem like you are individually doing a lot to help change the outcome, but even conceptualizing the idea in your mind that your vote matters would be a dramatic shift in narrative from years past.

It is true that alone one person's vote may not matter, but if we gather everyone who has ever thought that together ((15% of non-voters (Pew Research Center, 2019)), that ripple becomes a wave. It requires our action. It requires our
participation. YOU the voter need to believe that your vote has power. Your social-econimic status does not take away any of your power as a voter, it may seem strange but one person of low SES holds the same voting power as a person of higher SES. Alone we may not be able to change anything, together however, we have immense power.

Here are some tools that you will need to help make sure that our voice is heard in 2020. Provided is a link on how to register if you have not yet, and what you need to do in each state to submit your ballot.

How to Register:
https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote

How to Vote in Your State:
https://www.usa.gov/election-day

References:

Benenson, J., & Bergom, I. (2019). Voter participation, socioeconomic status, and institutional contexts in higher education. The Review of Higher Education, 42(4), 1665–1688. doi: 10.1353/rhe.2019.0079

Chalabi, M. (2017, January 18). Who are the three-quarters of adult Americans who didn't vote for Trump? The Guardian. Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/18/american-non-voters-election-donald-trump

Lopez, G. & Flores A. (2017. June 1). Dislike of candidates or campaign issues was most common reason for not voting in 2016. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/06/01/dislike-of-candidates-or-campaign-issues-was-most-common-reason-for-not-voting-in-2016/