Election Week

Well election week is finally here. Depending on when you read this, you’re either getting ready to vote, have already voted, or didn’t bother to vote. At this point, if you’re planning to vote you probably know whom you’re going to vote for and how you’re going to vote on the issues. There’s nothing new that’s likely to sway you or changed your mind at this point. However, once you’ve exited the polling station and over the next couple days as the results are announced, it’s time to start taking a close, hard look at how you voted.

The first questions you should ask yourself are about the candidates themselves. Does the person I voted for really represent me? Does this person share the vast majority of my opinions? Would this person make the same decisions as me? Do I believe in the character of this person? Would I leave this person alone with my children or perhaps my wallet? If you can’t answer “yes” to all of these questions, there’s only three possible reasons: you voted for the wrong candidate, you voted against another candidate, or you didn’t know enough about the race or the candidates to answer all of those questions.

If you couldn’t answer all of the questions, then you should resolve to challenge yourself to become more informed before the next elections. Chances are most people will encounter candidates in small local races that they are unaware of. Often these people are even running uncontested. It’s hard to choose the right candidate if there are no options! Or maybe it’s easier that way!

If you can answer all of the questions, but they’re not all “yes”, then you voted for the wrong candidate for one reason or another. Regardless of whether or not you did it on purpose you voted for a person who does not represent you. A lot of people do this in every election. Many of you will vote for the Republican or the Democrat simply because you don’t like or don’t agree with the other party. Even worse, you’ll vote for one or the other party because you dislike something that the other party stands for, and like more of what your party of choice stands for. If any of this applies, then you are not voting for someone who represents you and that is something that deserves some thought.

The Democratic and Republican parties have been around for a long time and they have their own agenda. They have far reaching plans for future elections and they are in their own right large extensive organizations that deal with significant sums of money. The candidates they support are members of the organization working towards its goals and attempting to improve their own station within it. If a candidate wants to continue his or her support, they must subscribe to the party’s objectives and actively work toward reaching them. It’s no wonder that these people don’t represent you. They represent multi-billion dollar organizations that are trying to gain an edge on one another!

Ultimately, you need to ask yourself if you’re truly happy with how you voted. Are the people you helped elect or tried to elect, really the kind of people you want in office? The two-party system that we have today has taken the choice of proper representation away from a lot of people. Perhaps it’s time to start looking at some of those other parties. Maybe it’s time to start encouraging the independents. If there’s a candidate you believe in, maybe it’s time to start voting for them even if they can’t win.