Let’s talk about the importance of voting!
Voting is the foundation of democracy, and without it, our lives would be significantly different. It allows us to right systemic wrongs, and bring forth new change. It is a right and a civic duty.
Yet voter turnout in the US is rather lackluster and only 60.1% of those eligible to vote, voted in the 2016 presidential election. In contrast, Sweden had a voter turnout rate of 82.6% in 2014.
Throughout history, Americans have fought for the right to vote. We have evolved from only rich white men over the age of 21 being able to vote, to all US citizens over the age of eighteen being granted the right to vote regardless of race, gender, sex or creed.
We as Asian Americans were only granted citizenship and the right to vote in 1952. That was just 68 years ago. We must take full advantage of this. According to the Pew Research Center, Asian Americans are the fastest growing demographic of eligible voters. We have the power to make a real impact and sway election results. But Indians or Asians in general tend to not be as politically active as we conform to the model minority myth and all too often we are overlooked by politicians. Let’s change that.
The Delaware primary is today, September fifteenth. Primary elections allow residents to voice preference for their party’s candidate. It allows them to decide what their party looks like and represents. It's how they can choose their ideal candidate for the general election. For example, are you passionate about healthcare and medicare for all, affordable education, and a green new deal? There are candidates that will represent you in the primary and you can help them achieve candidacy for the general election.
Here is a list of all of the candidates in today’s election:
I highly encourage you to look into each individual candidate if you haven’t already but here are some other articles with information on candidates:
Today, from 7am to 8 pm, you can vote at any of these polling locations if you didn’t request an absentee ballot:
Kent County
New Castle County
Sussex County:
The primaries do require that you have registered to vote and listed your party affiliation a month or so in advance. If you haven’t done so already, you won’t be able to cast your vote today.
But you still have the opportunity to vote in the general election this year. The deadline to register to vote for the general election is October 10th, 2020 and it only takes two minutes to register at the website listed below. All you need is to be eighteen, a US citizen, and some form of identification to get registered.
Please make the most of this opportunity. Many of our country’s glaring issues have been exposed over the past few months, from systemic racism, the lack of healthcare, the lack of leadership in handling the pandemic and crisis situation, the sky-high price of higher education, to the huge wealth gap. We can vote for a candidate who will work to fix these issues in November. Let’s make a difference in this country by exercising our basic voting rights.
- Kanmani