Guest Post: "The Importance of Exercising Your Franchise" by Heather Johnson

This post was contributed by Heather Johnson, who writes on the subject of California teaching certificates. She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com.

The Importance of Exercising your Franchise

The dictionary definition of democracy “A government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system” would have us believe that the leaders we elect are in office only because we the people helped put them there through virtue of our votes. But how many of our leaders, politicians and government officials are where they are today because the people of their countries truly wanted them to be there? The truth, if it were known more widely, would astound many of us – most of our leaders are in office through default because most of us just cannot be bothered to vote on Election Day.

By failing to exercise our franchise, we have failed to assert our democratic rights as citizens. And by failing to do that, we have failed to choose leaders of repute, and let down our fellow citizens who have taken the trouble to vote. It’s not just our actions that cause consequences of minuscule or immense proportions; very often, inaction can cause far more damage than action of some form or the other.

There are various reasons why people don’t bother to exercise their franchise, the biggest and most important one being the non-availability of candidates they can support and trust as the best to lead their country and take the best decisions for its people. When they have to choose between the devil and the deep sea, they find it’s easier to abstain and stay home instead of braving the queues(?) at the polling booth. Some people are too busy to even realize that it’s Election Day while others are beset by their own issues and couldn’t care less about the outcome of the vote.

But in a nation like the United States of America where you’re more or less forced to choose one of two candidates (the independents hardly cause a ripple in the voting banks), one of two parties with two different ideals, the choice boils down to the stand the candidates take on the various issues that face the nation and the policies they say they’ll bring about or support. If you’re an informed and shrewd customer, you’ll see that choosing the lesser of the two evils is a wise choice; if not, all you can do is complain about the way the country is going to the dogs for the next five years, before you can sit back in your armchair and abstain yet again!