Page 72 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2023

72 | July 2023 www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
You hear it all the time: Go vote! Your vote matters. Do your civic duty. But what does it all really mean? Are these just pointless platitudes? Why should you vote? Why vote in local elections and not just the big, federal ones?
Every election is important to vote in. When more people vote, there’s a better portrayal of your community in the people representing you and the legislation they create. When more people vote, state and national legislators notice.
Chances are that big, flashy presidential elections with news coverage all over the place are
the elections you think of when you think of voting. But in reality, elections happen much more often than that.
Research has shown for years that across the country, local elections have a much smaller turnout than national ones. These elections
are for the people that will affect your everyday life. They decide where your tax dollars go. How much money goes into your child’s school. How much money goes to infrastructure, like the roads we
drive on every day. Many people feel that their vote doesn’t matter in big elections (even though it does), but with such a small turnout for local elections, your vote could genuinely change the results.
Need more reasons to vote? It’s your right. If you’re a woman or person of color, people fought hard for your right to vote. Don’t let those years of protests be for nothing.
Everybody wants their government to represent them. If you don’t
go out and vote, your legislators won’t represent you – they’ll only represent those that went out and voted.
Even if you’re not able to vote yet, there are still things you can do to be involved in the election process. You can stay up to date on political issues by researching and figuring out where you stand. You can talk to others about your opinions. You can volunteer for a candidate. And you can get your friends to do these things too.
You and your vote mean something. Every part of our life is impacted by the government. Make your voice heard!
story by Victoria Snyder