Today's Kindness #212: November 8, 2022
🗽🗳️VOTE!🗳️🗽
Today is November 8! it's Election Day!
Elections lead the way in how our city, state, and country are run for some years. Especially this year, with the world as divided as it is, it is so important to get your vote out there.
Critical development efforts cannot succeed without a legitimate and democratically elected government that is responsive and accountable to its citizens. Elections provide an important opportunity to advance democratization and encourage political liberalization.
- For an election to be free and fair, certain civil liberties, such as the freedoms of speech, association, and assembly, are required.
- Elections can be a primary tool to foster political openings and expand political participation.
- Electoral processes offer political parties and civic groups an opportunity to mobilize and organize supporters and share alternative platforms with the public.
- Elections also serve to encourage political debate and public dialogue.
Voting is important because it provides a way for political leaders to be held accountable for what they do and do not do. If you look at places where voting is not a right, political leaders often abuse their power, the system becomes corrupt, and people's human rights are abused. On the other hand, in places where voting is a right, leaders are held accountable for their actions and the rights of citizens are better protected and respected. Colorado has one of the most accessible and secure voting systems in the country. Each registered voter receives a ballot in the mail and can then decide if they want to fill out the ballot at home and mail it in, drop it off at a voting station, or vote in person. Making your voice heard here in Colorado matters!
You have a very important perspective on how the decisions of political leaders impact your life. Voting is the way to support leaders who you feel are creating a positive impact and push out leaders who you think are not. While the candidate you vote for might not always win, participating in the voting process is an important way to stay engaged in what is happening in your communities and make your voice heard.
Remember, You must turn in your ballots to a drop-off location or vote in person at a polling center by 7 P.M. to have your vote counted.
If you are under 18, show your support to candidates and tell eligible voters that their vote matters! You can also visit Vote16USA to learn about the national campaign to lower the minimum voting age to 16.
"There's no such thing as a vote that doesn't matter."
- Barack Obama