ARE YOU voting this year? With Election Day rapidly approaching, the pertinent question is not which candidate will you choose, but if you will choose to vote at all
Everyone from political analysts and pundits down to high school government students can cite so-called voter apathy as a determining factor in national elections. As college students, we have our own reasons for not voting. Ultimately, voting is important, and avoiding it is lazy.
College students often use their distance from home, and their registered voting district, as an excuse for not voting. But we've all walked by the voter registration tables on the Lawn. Various volunteer groups hold registration drives for months before an election. There is no excuse for not filling out a form.
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Another excuse is lack of information. It is irresponsible to vote without knowing much about either candidate. Yet again this comes down to laziness. In the months preceding an election all media outlets are filled with the propaganda, but also less biased coverage, of all major candidates. With the extensive Internet use most students have access to, and the new USA Today readership program offering free newspapers to University students, there is no excuse not to find out how the candidates stand on key issues.
Once students know about the candidates, they often complain that they don't like either major party candidate. This is certainly a valid complaint. Neither Texas Gov. George Bush (R) nor Vice President Al Gore is especially impressive. They are, however, the current choices. As unattractive as the prospect might be, one of these men will be leading the country through the next four years. We have a responsibility to choose, even if it means choosing against one candidate rather than for the other.
If you find both candidates unacceptable, there is another choice. Third party candidates abound in any election. Although it is almost impossible for these candidates to win a national election, they do make an impact on national politics.
The Green Party in particular is in a position to make a national impact this year. In comparison to Bush and Gore, the Green Party candidates will receive a small percentage of votes. Ralph Nader and Vice Presidential candidate Winona LaDuke are, however, gaining a large following for a third party.
Nader and LaDuke stand to make a national impact. Their presence pushes voters toward or away from other candidates. Third party candidates can push different issues into the national spotlight, forcing Gore and Bush to address issues which they may have preferred to avoid.
Nader and LaDuke also are in a unique position this year in that they may make a run at 5 percent of the national vote. If they succeed, the Green Party will be recognized as a major party, and will receive government financing, which is the first step toward serious contention in a national election. So for those who have found the major party candidates lacking in recent years, helping the Green Party to 5 percent could mean a legitimate third party option in future years.
Another particularly uncreative excuse for not voting is the claim that the presidential election just doesn't matter; the country will run much as it does now regardless of who is elected. This year, though, it does matter.
Either Gore or Bush will make a lasting impact on national policy in the next four years. The new president will nominate several Supreme Court justices. The Supreme Court will make major decisions which will impact our lives, possibly more significantly than laws enacted by Congress.
This is particularly true in the case of abortion. The Supreme Court eventually will have to make a decision on this issue, and both candidates, knowing this, will nominate justices who will stick with their party on this issue. Bush or Gore's choice of Supreme Court justices will directly impact our lives.
Presidential candidates cater to voters with good voting records - the elderly - and those with money - big business and lobbyists. As college students we have neither money to donate nor good voting records. As a result, we have all the more reason to vote, as it is the only way to force politicians to pay attention to the issues about which youth tend to be concerned.
Voting is the least we can do to fulfill our civic duty, and ignoring it is just lazy.
(Megan Moyer is a Cavalier Daily viewpoint writer.)
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