Opinion: Undecided voters need to decide
September 10, 2012
Bruce Walton
Bruce Walton is a sophomore news major and columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact Bruce Walton at [email protected].
Voting is very important in America. In case no one ever told you, that’s how we get things done in this country. But say you don’t know what you want for the U.S. Well, you are part of a lucky statistic called “undecided.”
Undecided voters are very different from any other kind of voters out there because they still want to vote but are unsure of whom to choose. With such a very important decision, one undecided vote may not make much of a difference on voting day. But a large number of people are undecided until two or three months before elections take place, and their impact will most likely change the tide of an entire election.
I know I said this election wasn’t going to be close, but now I admit my mistake. This is going to be a closer one than any of us may even know now. In a recent poll by Politico, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are neck-and-neck, and only a small percentage of undecided voters could go to either side and tip the scales.
I know that I’m giving a lot of information here, but what I’m really trying to say here is to pick a side or get out of the way. I’m not saying that if you’re not with us you’re against us, but the truth of the matter is that this is a two-party government, and the two parties are at one of the most partisan times in decades.
Believe me: From experience, hesitation leads to disaster, and waiting all this time to choose who to vote for will not lead to an educated and well-thought-out decision.
I know there are going to be a bunch of other people you can vote for on that ballot, and I’m sure Ron Paul will appreciate your vote, but it won’t really do anything. There’s only four people on that ballot you need to care about: Romney/Ryan and Obama/Biden. If you do not vote for the only people that actually count in this general election, you’re basically not doing anything at all; you are just making as much of a difference as not voting in the first place.
Making a decision is a very hard thing to do, but if you look deep down in what you think the government should do for you, and look up the plans and policies the candidates have brought, I’m sure you can find one side to choose. It’s a part of voting, it’s a part of deciding and it’s a part of being human. This isn’t personal; it’s just an election.
But before I go, I would like to let everyone know that you can vote if you have a criminal record, just as long as you are not currently incarcerated, and that you have until October 9 to register to vote. (Thanks to one of my readers, Cara Kashmer.)