This November, an election is approaching: the midterms. The midterm election is always held: in the middle of the presidential election. One can vote on candidates for the US Senate, House of Representatives, State Officers, and Judges in their state. The House represents district citizens and has the ability to impeach laws, and the US Senators represent state citizens and have the ability to accept treaties.. The Senate also approves presidential appointments with Supreme Court Justices. When doing midterm elections, one can find out which political party will hold value in nominating candidates and law-making. Due to the fact that many high school students will be able to vote soon, or in a couple of years, it is essential to know information about the candidates, how to register, and why voting is so important.
First things first,one has to know who they yare going to vote for. On ballotpedia.org, one can look up their state and see who they are voting for. Then, they click on one of the candidate options, and the list of people comes up with a summary of each candidate. This allows one to ensure they’re picking the right person to represent their state. Candidates can easily trick voters into thinking that they’re the right person, so research is a necessity!
Now, how does one register to vote in North Carolina? On ncsbe.gov, the deadline is given for voter registration on the front page. There are many ways to register. One can register by mail, complete an application online or through the DMV, and they can register at early voting sites. This website also allows individuals to update their registration and find out if they’re even eligible to register. One thing that is always good to remember while doing the registration process is the closing date to register in North Carolina is twenty-five days before the election date. According to spectrumlocalnews.com, this year’s midterm election will be the largest election since 2020. Ted Budd will be representing the Republican party for the US Senate ,and Cheri Beasley will be representing the Democratic party. Spectrum News predicts that Republicans will be able to win the US House and Senate, but it is still debatable.
Lastly, it’s time to talk about why it is so important to vote, and why young individuals should vote. According to nationalgeographic.org, most people think that their vote won’t make a difference, or won’t matter, but there have been cases where a couple hundred more votes could have changed the presidential election. In 2000, when Al Gore was running against George W. Bush, the election came down to Florida. After they counted, Bush ended up winning by 537 votes. State elections are just as important because voters are voting on the people that represent their state ,and they can often have more of an impact on the state’s population than the president. John Colbert is a social studies teacher here at Myers Park. He discussed the importance of voting, answering the question, “Why is it so important for younger generations to vote?”
“Because if you don’t vote, I will, and guess who gets to make the rules?” The older generation tends to vote more than the younger. That has to change because then they will get all the power on their generation’s opinions. Colbert thinks that voting is vital in order to uphold democracy. “We have to have civic participation, everybody’s got to have a voice,and so if you don’t,then just a few people will control things. That’s not the way a democracy works.” Colbert displays that voting is imperative to giving the people in this country a voice and a choice to who they want in the government. Without voting, America would lack the freedom everyone all deserves.