Importance of Voting

The Midterm Elections are coming up and many Americans are looking forward to voting. There have been reports from many states that they are experiencing record-breaking voter registration. So, if you ever wanted to vote, this is the perfect time to!

Many Americans have resorted to registering online and some states do allow online voter registration. However, some do not allow online voter registration at all. This seems to be raising eyebrows and concerns as to why people cannot register online.

There have been thousands of Americans who have registered through the website, vote.org, that allows for easy registration for any state. The problem is that not every state recognizes this website as an authentic and legitimate website to register.

As technology plays a more important role in our lives, many wonder why they cannot just go online to register. It would allow for more people to register and make voting a lot easier.

Several states, like Texas, have refused to recognize online voter registration through third party websites. In Texas, citizens have to register through a Deputy Registrar or go online, print the registration form and mail it to the Secretary of State’s office or the County Clerk’s office. If a Texan is not in Texas on Election day and would like an absentee ballot, they must go online and apply to get an application to get an absentee ballot. They have to wait to see if they got accepted to receive a ballot so even if they do apply, there’s no guarantee that they will get it. It really seems like a rigorous process just to do something so simple as registering to vote.

Now, Texas is not the only one that has presented hurdles in front of potential voters, other states like Georgia have also refused to recognize online voter registrations. Some states require voter IDs or some form of government-issued identification in order to vote. They say it is done to lessen the chances of voter fraud, but there are very rare cases of that. It seems more like a barrier to prevent some people from voting like ethnic minorities or people living under poor economic conditions. To get an ID requires going to a government office and that forces a person to take time off of work, which many people may not be able to do.

It really looks like there are some states that are trying to prevent people from exercising their right to vote.

To stop laws like this, it is important that people vote in city and state elections. The people who run for political office within your state will have more effect on your life than any president ever would. If you don’t like what your state is doing, then vote for a different candidate, one that stands up for you and your rights.