A couple of months ago, I couldn’t tell you what was on the election ballot. I knew you could vote for the president, and I knew that was important, but I didn’t understand how my one vote could mean anything in the grand scheme of things. Approaching the election, I challenged myself to find out more about what it means to vote and what these policies mean for me and my community. Alongside my girlfriend and my best friend, we sat down and spent hours researching each amendment and candidate. We did this to make sure we not only understood what we were voting for but that we understood what the results would mean. The next day, we left to go to early voting to make sure those opinions were heard.
I’m not going to sit here and say I know everything about everything because I don’t. There are still so many doctrines and procedures and roles that I truly cannot wrap my head around. Honestly even the voting process has me questioning my own sanity. Like, how do they count all the ballots so quickly? And what even is an Electoral College? But I am proud of the decisions I made.Â
Anyways, it’s a privilege to put aside the time to research our ballot and voting system. I am so grateful for the resources I have to take advantage of my rights. Unfortunately, not everyone has that right, and it seems the ballot likes to prey on that. One of the first things I observed when looking over my ballot was how overly complex and confusing the verbiage was. There is no way, with vocabulary and sentence structure that complex, that this ballot is fit for every citizen in America to read it and entirely understand the concept and opinions they are advocating for. It’s just not possible. It is not fair to those who don’t know how to read, who don’t read English, who struggle with English, who are dyslexic, or who struggle with reading comprehension to have this very important ballot not be accessible to them. If I, an A+ college student, am struggling to decipher what the amendments mean on the ballot, how can you expect anyone else to? The language used in federal documents, or really any document or media accessible to the mass public, should be easily accessible to the common man. No if, ands, or buts. One of my favorite quotes goes as follows, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” This quote by Albert Einstein is a reminder I repeat to myself constantly. If the government cannot make its desired amendments easily understandable and legible in one sentence, then they simply do not understand what it means. And at that point, should they really be making those decisions in the first place?
Nonetheless, I am proud of my decisions. I am so grateful that I voted, even if I am frustrated with the results. I will not let my right to advocate for myself and my community go to waste, and I will continue to advocate for equal and equitable rights in our country until we are heard. I hope you will too.