Oct 31, 2020 3 min read

In the 1960 presidential election, John F. Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon in the popular vote by only 118,000 votes out of 69 million cast.

That contest remains one of the most fabled in the country’s history. It pitted two figures against one another who went on to have consequential presidencies. And yet, even in that most legendary of elections, 63.8% of eligible voters cast ballots. It remains the high-water mark, in recent times, of voter participation in an American election.

If even a portion of the eligible voters who sat on the sidelines that year had cast ballots, who knows how the course of history might have been different. If Nixon had won, Kennedy might have lived longer and become president later. But, also, if Nixon had won, we might not have had Medicare, Medicaid, the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, all legislation that Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon Johnson, shepherded to approval. Maybe the Vietnam War would have been managed differently, or it might never have happened at all. We’ll never know.

It’s believed that turnout in this year’s presidential election could break records, yet there will still be a substantial number of Americans who won’t be participating. Some are simply indifferent to politics, which, if you think about it, is a luxury that many people in other parts of the world simply can’t afford. Some say they’re not inspired by the candidates or the priorities of the two major parties. Others have adopted the more cynical posture that their votes don’t really matter amid the millions of other votes, or that nothing will really change whether they vote or not. That’s an argument that’s easy to refute, considering that all public policy decisions that affect us, whether it’s the quality of our roads, the cost of an education or the availability of health care, are all ultimately the result of decisions made by voters.

But there are eligible voters who don’t make it to the polls, and it’s not because they’re alienated or blasé. It’s because voting isn’t easy for them. Some voters live in communities that don’t have early voting, or have limited absentee options, and if they can’t make it to the polls on Election Day due to work or family obligations, they don’t vote. Others live in communities where few polling places are open, and choosing to vote means waiting in line for at least a couple of hours. That’s tough to do if you have an employer that won’t let you take time away from work. Some states have also enacted strict voter ID laws, which keeps some voters away.

America has made marked progress in expanding the franchise since its founding. Women can now vote, as can 18-year-olds. African Americans are not subject to humiliating tests or threats of death if they vote in places like Mississippi or Alabama. But many of our developed peers around the world make voting much easier than we do.

We need to keep striving toward being a country where everyone who wants to vote can do so.

– Observer-Reporter