By Tim DeLouchrey
Sports Editor
I entered the gymnasium of the Rita Miller School after school on November 4th to do something I had never done before: vote. I came into the election being generally well informed thanks almost entirely to the government course offered at Westford Academy. I was given the ballot and filled out my vote for every race and question I knew enough about to do so, knowing that my opinion would be taken into account in our government.
The entire process of filling out and submitting the ballot took no longer than five minutes and was a very simple and easily achieved experience. It’s important for people to vote; after all, we have the right for a reason. It is safe to say that a large amount of people have overheard others complaining about the government but when asked if they voted, they respond no. It is one thing if that person is not yet eighteen. In fact, it is probably a positive thing if someone who is underage is informed enough to think critically about the government. With that being said, it is not those people that inspired me to register to vote, it is the ones who are eligible, choose not to, and become unsatisfied with the results.
The most difficult part of voting was becoming and staying informed. In a year where there was no presidential election, there was not much intense coverage on the races. Sure, there are campaign ads, but there is much more to a candidate than those. The best route to take on becoming informed is to understand the current issues and determine where you stand. There are always at least a few issues where the candidates differ. Many news stations write about every perspective of the issue that citizens can use to further inform themselves.
From there, choose a candidate who best represents your views. Most races have plenty of candidates, especially in the primary. Though there will be cases where you find no one matches your views very well, it is significantly more common that you will find someone who you would be comfortable electing to office. Many voters fall into the trap of doing the opposite; choosing a candidate that they like, and then aligning their views with that particular candidate’s.
Another part of becoming a voter is understanding what issues will directly affect you. As a student who plans to go into a career in teaching, I certainly took a closer look at the candidate’s views on education reform and was influenced by those opinions more than the ones on gun control, as that does not affect me nearly as much.
The most pivotal advice I could give in terms of voting is simple. Do it. Registering to vote is simple and being well informed on the issues and races will help you contribute in the process to select a candidate who will represent you how you want.
