Imagine what our country would be like if millennials took over the government and Gen Z as the lobbyists, who we call influencers in the political arena. Our government would be more productive and efficient working for the public for a better future. The 2020 election year left a remarkable imprint and showed us the power of voting that left our nation divided believing either the election was rigged, or it was a fair election. What we experienced was a huge shift in how voting can be accessible if we all work together. We witnessed huge lines of voters waiting in line for longer hours to cast their votes every day during the early voting period. If all elections were like this in the past, then more people would have voted. The early voting access was one of the positive effects of the coronavirus that all kinds of generations of boomers, millennials, Gen Z took it into their own hands through social media.
Voting has always been a popular topic within communities of people of color or the marginalized for generations. It is gaining more attraction these days, and we can all thank social media for it. However, it was not something that was easily attained by all, as it was a right reserved for the privileged white rich men at first. It was not until the 1920s when women began fighting for their right to vote but that too was limited to white women only.
It was the 1960s when the political environment was heated, and people of color demanded inclusion in the society for voting rights and desegregation. People of color strongly fought for their rights to vote through peaceful protests or standing against the discriminatory practices through which many lost their lives as martyrs. In result, the 1965’s Civil Rights Act was passed that granted the right to vote to the people of color including the Native Americans. It is because of these heroes that we are all able to vote today regardless of our backgrounds in all the elections. Their bravery and sacrifices cannot be forgotten. However, these days we underestimate the power of voting and ways it can drastically change our society socially and economically.
So why should we even bother casting a vote?
We elect our officials to represent us to vote on bills to make them into laws that impact our lives daily through taxes, community development, access to benefits, representation, public safety and so much more. As we get more consumed with our daily lives, we deeply trust our officials to act rightfully to represent our beliefs when they are working but often times, we forget to hold our officials accountable as time goes by.
We may think voting is just an ordinary act of civic duty that can be taken lightly. As we witnessed a huge spike in voter turnout at polls and absentee ballots during election year 2020, it shook our political environment. As a reaction to the voter turnout, many officials began introducing bills that would restrict access to voting. They are flustered by the voter turnout which changed the makeup of our congress today and now they desire to create more barriers and make it harder to cast a vote. It is one of the ways to keep the current systems as they are, so newcomers in the government won’t challenge it. Incumbents dislike the idea of change or be challenged by newbies to keep their donors like large corporations happy.
Taxes
When we think of taxes, we easily switch our brains to think about income taxes first and it is mostly because that is what the media likes to focus on. There are other types of taxes that affect the livelihoods of working individuals. Our votes can get someone elected who may be more in favor of increasing property taxes, utilities taxes (Ex: sewage), school district taxes and other benefits related taxes. It is not just about increasing or decreasing income taxes, but it is also about the allocating those taxes back to the districts rightfully. It is also about electing someone who represents their districts and works towards providing better resolutions for them. Voting may result in someone in office who may favor enacting paid family leave programs or disability insurance programs for their working constituents whose employers fail to provide such benefits.
Taxes are just like trust funds for the community rather than individuals themselves. However, our officials hold the power who should be taxed, whether it be everyone in their district or certain types of individuals. When I refer to taxes, please keep in mind that I am referencing all levels of taxes such as federal, state, local city/county/district taxes. Regardless of voting for individual candidates, voters also get the opportunity to directly vote on local ordinances to either increase or decrease certain tax types and approve or disapprove funding for local projects.
Public Safety
It is important to notice how our officials are associating public safety in the times of coronavirus. For example, to wear a mask in public spaces was introduced as a public safety concern to reduce the spread and to protect the people from contracting the virus. For some reason, it turned into some sort of a political phenomenon. In addition, many governors were being praised for lifting the mandate to wear a mask in public. Wearing a mask became a leisure for many while lifting the requirements put many vulnerable groups in danger whose bodies may not be able to survive the virus.
Our officials limited their definition of public safety to just fire hazards, natural disasters or criminal activity and avoided evolving as we move with time. Even though some may be against wearing a mask for whatever reason, if it is something that provides a safer environment for our community (our children, elderly, vulnerable population), then our elected officials needed to stand strong on the grounds for creating a safer environment for us. Their primary goal’s focus could have been to unite the constituents together with a common goal rather than to divide them amongst themselves for their political agenda.
Community Development
Nevertheless, our elected officials hold the power to vote on annual budgets for our states, cities or towns, and also hold the power to allocate budgets they desire fit for our community projects. Yes, there is a reason why a giant pothole at one of our neighborhood’s parks or the leaking at our neighborhood’s library is not fixed for many months or even years. And it doesn’t just stop there. They get to vote on laws behalf of us deciding who may have access to public benefits like SNAP, meal programs, Medicaid and social welfare programs for the financially struggling individuals or families. The requirements of eligibility are usually defined in their legislative policies. So pretty much, they have the power to include or exclude whoever they want to from eligibility.
Professional Environment
As we know by now, our officials are the ones who make the laws not just for elements that impact our personal lives but also our professional lives. They define the minimum wage standards for us for our labor, whether we should be paid more for our overtime or not, or at which hour the overtime pay begins. It doesn’t just stop there; our safety of our physical and social wellbeing is also defined by these laws; by how much sick time we can receive when we are not feeling well or just what is the bare minimum that our employers can get away with.
We are surrounded by decisions made by our officials at home, on the streets, public spaces, our workplaces and pretty much everywhere. Each one of us carries different values for ourselves. When it comes to shared places that is when we may have to expand our own horizons to make others feel safe and included. Many times, our elected officials fail to see our common goals or many times they succeed to achieve the common vision to reciprocate positive results . Therefore, we must do our own due diligence of voting and holding our officials accountable. Every year is an election year, and we should be ready to vote every year. After all, they are paid from the taxes we pay from our earned money and they sign up to work for us.
