This November citizens of the United States will take to the polls to vote on who they would like to be president. Voting is important no matter what you agree with or what side you align with. However, making an educated decision on who to vote for is more important. Hopefully, by the end of this article you will learn about the importance of voting.  

In today’s age American citizens over the age of 18 are allowed to vote, however this was not always the case. The Constitution originally did not define who could or could not vote, it only defined how the country would vote. The original states were left to decide, and in the end, white, land-owning men were the only ones eligible to vote.  

In 1869 the 15th Amendment was passed, and black men were allowed to vote but were faced with many hurdles like poll taxes and literacy tests. It would continue until the 24th Amendment in 1964, which eliminated poll tax. The next year the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would end the racist and discriminatory Jim Crows laws.  

Women had to wait the longest and were not allowed to vote until 1920 with the 19th Amendment being passed. This was due to the long efforts of the women’s suffrage movement.  

Each election every vote counts, yes one single vote counts. In 2016 Donald Trump narrowly defeated Hillary Clinton by securing a close Electoral College win. Clinton had won the popular vote but a high amount of Trump supporters in key districts of “swing” states led him to winning the electoral votes.  

The previous election year in 2020 was very controversial, with alleged fake votes and miscounting. This upcoming election is already surrounded with drama and controversy. The original candidates for this fall’s election were previous presidents up for re-election, Joe Biden, democratic, and Donald Trump, republican. However, in a shocking twist Biden dropped out and backed his current Vice President Kamala Harris for election. Harris recently became the Democratic presidential nominee.  

In her time in office and continuing Harris has worked to deliver for families, protect fundamental freedoms and bring people together. She speaks about women’s right to make decisions about their own body, gun safety, freedom to vote. She also pushes for clean water and clean air.  

Compared to Harris, Trump has strong conservative views. If elected Trump has plans to launch the largest deportation effort in U.S. history, move homeless encampments out of cities and give police more authority. He vowed to remove restrictions Biden placed on guns. He is a strong Israeli ally and suggested the will just have to “play out.” However, he called for a cease-fire between Russia and the Ukraine. Trump also has plans to shut down the Department of Education, allow prayer in public school, cut federal funding to schools teaching what he referred to as “critical race theory,” and provide federal funding for schools to hire trained gun owners to act as armed guards at schools. Trump has also been linked to the controversial “Project 2025.”  

No matter who you end up voting for, making sure you are truly educated on who and what you are voting for is important. Please, take the time to research both candidates without bias and then pick who you would like to vote for. Your voice matters, your vote matters.