The second Tuesday in November is one of the most important days of every two years. Every four years is the Presidential election, which is very important but the midterm elections are just as if not more important. During the midterm elections, seats of the U.S. House of Representatives are up for grabs.
I will speak for myself when I say it was not until 2020 that I understood the importance of voting within your counties and states. The people in those positions are the ones who directly impact us. It is important to have an understanding of who controls the senate and the house. According to ItsUSEmbassy.gov, “While state and local races don’t usually grab national headlines, the overwhelming majority of legislation in the country is passed at the state level, not the federal level.”
Whichever respective political party your presidential candidate is for, he or she will struggle to pass anything if they are outnumbered by the opposing party. That is one of the major problems former President Barack Obama faced.
According to BBC.com, “But the elections will give voters an opportunity to indirectly express their views on his presidency and the current direction of the country.” Based on these candidates voted in during the midterms, you can get a general consensus of what the presidential election may look like.
If we have learned anything recently, it is that we should not put anything past the senate when it comes to laws. To add, according to Gary Nordlinger, “Whoever controls the house or senate controls the agenda.”
For example, if you had a problem with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, you need to be out in the field voting come Nov. 8. The people that you put in these offices are representing your community. As I mentioned earlier, presidents typically struggle to accomplish their goals if their party is not the majority. If you have not been able to tell yet, these are the people that dictate your day to day lifestyle. Beyond Roe v. Wade case there are four other things that will be determined this go round.
According to Anthony Zurcher those four things are: “The turn of Republicans to investigate Democrats, Joe Bidens’s future, whether Trump runs again, will election deniers be running elections?”
So not only is it important to get out and vote, it is even more important to do your research. I think since Joe Biden was elected people began to realize the power that they actually have. Another thing that people need to realize is that every vote counts. People look at the majority party in their state and feel like they cannot have an impact.
According to Rocket.org, “During the midterms in 2018, youth turnout was 10.5% lower than the 2016 presidential election, while overall turnout only decreased by 4.8%. But there’s good news, too – young people broke records in 2018, more than doubling the youth turnout from the 2014 midterms!”
As young people, we have to do better at the polls. The people in these offices dictate our future. Also, it is very important that we understand the laws we vote on while at these polls. For example, it amazes me that slavery has just now been banned in the state of Tennessee. I know I am not the only one who was not aware of this law being present in the first place.
Overall, the midterm elections are just as important as the presidential election. Remember the senators that you vote for will represent you on a national level.