Thinking back to my first real recollections of anything political causes me to remember my dad’s love for the 34th President of The United States, General Dwight D. Eisenhower. He served in the White House from 1953 to 1961. The national election was something to be excited about and dad and mom could not wait to vote for their favorite candidate. Much to my father and mother’s delight Eisenhower defeated Democrat Adlai Stevenson for a second time in 1956, winning in a landslide. Things went well in 1956 but the following election was a little different. The Presidential election in 1960 didn’t go quite the way mom and dad hoped. Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy defeated former Vice President Richard Nixon by a very slight margin, 34,220, 984 votes for Kennedy, 34,108,157 votes for Nixon – a difference of 112,827 votes that translated into an electoral college difference of 84 votes. Wow, every vote in that election was important. Kennedy had won fair and square, the country accepted the results and even though my parents were skeptical about the new President they willingly accepted the results of the election and gave the new young President a chance. I’m not absolutely positive but I do not recall my parents ever missing an opportunity to vote in a government election.
I was in high school when the legal voting age for U.S. citizens, through ratification of the 26th amendment to our constitution, was lowered to 18 . The aforementioned President, Dwight Eisenhower, was one of the leading proponents for lowering the age from 21 to 18 and spoke about it during his 1954 State of the Union address. Eisenhower declared: “For years our citizens between the ages of 18 and 21 have, in time of peril, been summoned to fight for America. They should participate in the political process that produces this fateful summons.” The movement gained real momentum during the Vietnam War and in 1971 the U.S. Senate voted unanimously in favor of the 26th amendment. Amendments to our constitution must be ratified by a 3/4 majority of the 50 states and the 26th Amendment was ratified in record time – two months. I’ll never forget how exciting it was to learn that as an 18 year old I would be able to participate in the Presidential election in 1972. I would actually have a say in the direction of our country.
In those days the mail-in ballot did not exist; if you wanted to vote you went to a polling place determined by where you lived, stood in line, sometimes for hours, and voted in a large, drapery enclosed metal voting booth. It was important that you do your homework before you went because that metal voting machine was lined with small levers, each representing your vote for a specific candidate or your position on a myriad of other issues. Once the voter had positioned the levers according to his or her desires, a large lever was pushed and your vote was recorded for posterity. The candidate or issue the levers represented were written above but heaven help you if you were unprepared and had to stand there reading the tiny writing describing each item the levers represented. Not only would the voter be there for ever, it was also disrespectful to those waiting in line behind the voter. For me, the mechanics of casting my vote were incidental and irrelevant in the scheme of things. Fortunately we have moved from the lever voting machine, to the punch paper ballot and now to the mail in ballot, making the actual act of casting our vote much easier. No matter how I do it, I am a citizen of the United States and the right to cast my vote is a privilege and an honor.
Today it seems like we are voting on something a couple of times a year. National elections come every two years, then there are state legislative elections, school board elections, mayoral elections, elections for our HOA board and yes, recall referendums. We vote for judges we don’t know, university regents we don’t really care about, amendments, propositions, and taxes increases that never seem to go away despite what we are told. None-the-less, we vote. The constant barrage of advertisements, yard signs, buttons, bumper stickers and traditional and social media coverage becomes intrusive, oppressive, and downright maddening. I can’t wait until election season is over because I can turn on the TV, radio or even watch something on YouTube without being subject to political ads. And yet, after saying all of that, no matter the circumstance the right to vote remains one of American citizens’ most valued rights. It saddens me to know that since the first couple of elections held after passage of the 26th Amendment, with the exception of 2008, the percentage of citizens between ages 18 and 24 who exercise their right to vote has declined to as little as 36 percent. Part of that drop is most likely due to the speed information travels at now. Up until the mid to late 1990’s we did not have every network news outlet predicting, “with 5% of the vote counted we are projecting the winner of Colorado is ___________.” Heck, there are times the election is virtually over before the polls close. Some of that has to do with exit polls, another contributor is early voting but most of it is the result of algorithms created by people far smarter than me that are used to predict results with very small amounts of data. Still, not a reason to vacate our right to cast our vote.
We should ask ourselves what the Bible says about voting. In the blog, Baptist21, the writer says, “while you will not find a chapter and verse that says, Thou shalt vote, biblical principles clearly lead us to the conclusion that Christians bear a unique responsibility to speak truth in the public square. Voting is an important means of doing just that!” On BibleResources.org, Betty Miller explains the Biblical stance on voting like this.
“The heart of God is expressed in the Bible as to His concern for government leaders and leadership by telling us as Christians that we should pray in this vein when we look at the admonition in the following verses:
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4
Should we not assume that if the Lord would have us pray for leaders, would He not also want us to use every opportunity to assist in electing the leaders that would be the best ones for promoting peace and righteousness? Yes, Jesus, himself said to “…Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars”.
She goes on to say:
“As Christians we should consider how the candidates stand on the issues and not get caught in the trap of voting strictly along party lines. Check voting records and see which candidates most closely follow Biblical standards. Some Christians just vote the Democratic or the Republican ticket because their parents voted that way. We should vote for the best man or woman for the job. They should not only be qualified for the job but should be moral people with good character traits. Voting for someone just because they tell us certain things that sound good is not the way to vote.”
If my math is correct, the 2020 Presidential election will be the 13th I have been honored to participate in since I gained the right to vote. Hmm, that covers something like 52 years. I am sure if I wanted to I could look up virtually every election of any type I have participated in since 1971. That is a bit of trivia I am sure you have no interest in. What I do want to impress on you, no matter how disgusted you might be with the current state of our political system, despite what the national polls tell you will happen in the election, in spite of media manipulation of public opinion and your response to that manipulation, please don’t sit on your hands when your chance to vote happens. Certainly not every one of those elections I participated in went the way I wanted them to but I did not allow that to break my spirit for voting. In the same vein, do not let special interest groups, the media, current elected officials or anyone else deter you from making your voice heard through your vote.
No, we are not required to vote but yes, I do believe we have a responsibility to exercise our right to vote. Just as I did when I started writing this entry, take a look back at the first time you voted. Knowing the readers of this bog I have to believe you were excited, did your homework and took the act of voting seriously. You also probably felt some level of privilege, felt proud when you had completed your ballot and made a personal commitment that no matter the outcome you would continue to be a willing participant in our constitutional right to express our opinion through our vote.
There is a big push to convince everyone that this is the most important election of our lifetimes. The reality is, the next election you participate in is the most important election of your lifetime. Be smart, be proud, be faithful and display that “I voted” sticker for all to see.
Doug's Journey 