Periscope - Why Your Vote Counts

By NiallO’Dowd

WHEN a presidential election is as close as the current one, it makes it all the more important that registered voters turn up at the polls.

For many Irish-born new citizens, November 2 will be their first opportunity to cast a ballot in the most important political race on earth. The facts are that in several of the key battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida, there will be significant numbers of such first time voters. It behooves them to cast their votes carefully.

There is no more important duty in a democracy than to validate and take part in the election of the next president of the United States, the greatest democracy on earth. Casting a vote should never be taken lightly. There are hundreds of millions worldwide who would love to have the same privilege, but are denied it.

The fact that America is a democracy is taken for granted by so many. We should never forget just how alien a system democracy looked to the kings and queens of the 18th century. Divine right to rule was enshrined, and the common man had no say.

Our democracy owes everything to the founding fathers. After the Revolution they could just as easily have opted for a dictatorship or a monarchial form of government. 

George Washington could have been crowned king, as was the custom at the time when you won a war and controlled a country. Instead, he demanded democracy, refused to run for a second term and ensured the peaceful transition of power at a time when it was unheard of in the world.

Equally, the Constitution of the U.S., arguably the greatest document in all of history, enshrined the new-fangled right to vote for most of its citizens, a departure so radical that the imperial world powers looked on in shock as true democracy began to evolve.

There is always a sense that a single vote does not count, but the reality of Florida in 2000 has destroyed that myth forever. When a presidential race comes down to just 538 votes out of 100 million cast, it certainly focuses the mind on what a difference a vote can make.

We are sure there are tens of thousands of Floridian Democrats who just wish they had election day 2000 back again, in order to cast their vote and change the course of history.

It is a cliche to say that presidential votes can change the course of history, but this year it certainly seems to be the case. We would definitely have a very different landscape if 539 democrats in Florida had decided to vote for Al Gore in 2000. 

There would likely be no war in Iraq, and very different economic priorities. Then again, perhaps Gore would not have reacted to strongly and successfully to September 11 as President George W. Bush did.

That is all idle speculation now, of course, and the reality of this year’s election is that we still seem to be fighting the 2000 one, with the added proviso that the election stakes are much higher this time around.

It is rare to see such a divergence of views between two candidates on every foreign policy issue and domestic issues such as the economy, health care and the environment.

If you have a political muscle in your body, this is the year to exercise it. The 2000 election was dubbed the “Seinfeld election” because it seemed to be about nothing. No one would dare make that statement about this year’s contest.

Those who profess to be tired of this election and want to return to endless soap operas are missing the point that this contest is the most vital in their lifetime.

So the message is vote as if your life depended on it. You never know. In these trying times someday it might just be so.