According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services webpage regarding “Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities,” U.S. citizens have both the right to “vote in elections for public officials” and the responsibility to “participate in the democratic process.” The upcoming presidential election has caused a great disparity between the desire to uphold these ideals and the desire to vote for a candidate who represents individual principles. If the “Settle for Biden” hashtag had not made this clear enough, this is not the election that many American voters were hoping for. Despite this, it is vital for all eligible voters to perform their right and responsibility to take action in the democratic process and vote.

With the argument that President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden lack the ability to effectively lead this nation through the current political environment, many eligible voters are not registering and those who are already registered have made the decision to abstain from voting. Despite these sentiments toward the candidates, they are the only options that have a real chance of making it into office. Third party candidates perform statistically worse in presidential elections, and with the current two-party political climate, voting third party, or voting with a write-in, will not result in a third party or write-in candidate winning. Abstaining from voting just because you disagree with the candidates will negatively affect the number of citizens truly being represented by the elected official. It is not about agreeing with the candidate entirely, it is about who the voter feels can best lead the nation. One may not want to be governed by either one of these candidates, but this is the reality U.S. voters are facing. 

By not voting, Americans will be disregarding years of struggle and sacrifice to create the democracy in which we live today. The U.S.  is built on both autonomy from government and direct interaction with it. This means that while American citizens can choose to not involve themselves in politics, they have the responsibility to shape and create the government that interacts with them, both for themselves and for the people around them. Voting is the greatest expression of freedom that a citizen can make, and by partaking in presidential elections, voters determine the state and quality of their lives and the lives of others for the four years of the presidential term, and even beyond. 

While it is clear that this election is not what many American voters wanted, this cannot stop the voters from exercising their rights and upholding their responsibilities.  Just because one may not want to do something, that does not mean they should not, especially in the case of a presidential election. 

Photo from Flickr