Election Night

I believe every vote counts, because upsets can happen. I wish I could prove with facts that every vote does count. But unless you live in a swing state, you know your state will vote one party or the other without fail. For example, Utah. Utah will be red no matter what. But in a swing state, that color isn't set. Everyone voting can make the difference.

I'm not a fan of election years. Even in high school, when election year came around, chain letters went around saying, "Put a tally next to who you support and pass it on!" It never went past me. Every single chain letter was promptly deleted. This year, I was excited to vote. But my dad kept ruining the excitement I felt for being able to vote for the first time ever. He's tried everything to get me to not vote in Nevada, a swing state. He told me to take my driver's license test right after I arrived in Utah and register while I was at it. He knew my vote wouldn't matter, because Utah is red no matter what. If I voted Romney, I voted the exact same way Utah was expected to win. If I voted Obama, my vote wouldn't matter because Utah would be red anyway. When we discovered I had to wait two months before getting my license, I said I wouldn't take my driver's test until after the election. My dad then tried to say, "How about you just don't vote this election? Just sit this one out and watch how it goes.

I am mad at him for trying to keep me from voting in Nevada. In Nevada and other swing states, voting counts. I am aware of the elections and how important this is. I'm also very aware of what ridiculous things come about as a result of the election. The fact my dad and I are voting for different candidates already sets me up for some trouble with my dad. He called everyone who was going to vote for my candidate "ignorant," but then tried to make me feel better by saying, "But I still love you."

That doesn't make me feel loved, Dad. It made me feel like you're calling me ignorant because I'm voting for someone you don't approve of. Because we both have different things we want out of the future POTUS and your candidate has a history of not supporting what I believe to be important. I did my research. I'm not ignorant. And I'm voting for someone that most fits my stance.

Nate told me nearly the same thing happened to him. His mom called him a "traitor" for voting for who he wanted (opposite candidate of hers), but he couldn't tell if she was joking or not. Maybe the uncertainty of not knowing is better. I know for a fact my dad was serious when he said everyone voting for my candidate was ignorant. Recently, he said the party of the candidate I'm voting for votes only by looking for the little letter next to their name. When I tried to tell him his candidate's voters do it, too, he refused to believe me and said, "No, it's your candidate's party."

In my honest opinion, both parties are going to have voters who'll vote for a candidate because of the little 'R' or 'D' next to their name. We all know there are people in the deep South who'll vote for Romney because he's a Republican, or that people in New York and California will vote for Obama because he's a Democrat. These people exist all over the country. In fact, these people make up the highest group of political voters. Those who will blindly vote. Ideologues, which I consider myself to be, make up the smallest group.

Basically, what I'm saying is that I don't like this election year. I feel like my dad dislikes me and looks down on me because I'm voting for the candidate he doesn't like. I don't like talking politics in my family. I don't like talking politics among my friends. I don't like those people who believe that their vote doesn't count and thus don't go out to vote, because these people will eventually complain about the POTUS. If you didn't vote, you should shut up and accept it because you didn't try to use your one vote to vote for the candidate you wanted. To quote my US government teacher and my AP English teacher, "If you didn't vote, SHUT UP and stop complaining because you didn't vote."

It's probably too late for this year, but four years from now, and in any election, vote. 

We're a democracy. One person, one vote. Now use that vote to push for change.