Why vote? This is a valid question. Why would you want to take time out of your day, wait in line, and cast a ballot in an election? Below we have a list of common reasons for not voting, and our responses to them.

My vote won’t make a difference.

Cartoon by Nick Anderson from the Houston Chronicle.

Your vote does matter. If everyone who used this excuse to not vote in an election actually voted, those people could change elections all across the country. And even if your vote isn’t the deciding vote, it shows your representatives that you and the issues you care about matter and deserve to be addressed.

I’m not registered to vote.

This can be easily fixed! Please see our tab “Registering to Vote.”

I don’t know how to vote.

This website was created to answer this question. See our tab “Going to the Polls” to learn about election day and how to use the voting machines.

I won’t be in my county on election day.

Lucky for you, Tennessee offers absentee voting. See our tab “Absentee Voting” which explains how you can vote early in your county or vote by mail.

Politics aren’t my thing.

Is not paying high taxes your thing? Protecting the environment? Making college more affordable? Politics affects our everyday lives. Whatever your cause, your local, state, and federal government is involved. Voting tells the candidates on the ballots you care, and they’ll be more inclined to help your issue.

I don’t like either candidate.

If you simply have no preference for any of the candidates, or perhaps don’t know enough about the candidates who are running, you can always skip that section of your ballot. You vote on several open government positions when casting a ballot, not just the ones that are on the news.  

An online candidate preference quiz by an independent source, such as www.procon.org, can help you decide which candidate for president is the most closely matched to most of your views on the issues.

 

Why vote? Because here on My First Vote TN, we’ve made it easy for you!