Voting in Langston Oklahoma

Voting is an essential process in democracy and determines how the government is run for the next few years, but most people do not participate. In the last presidential election, only 65.3 percent of people voted nationally (Census.gov).

Oklahoma has a few major elections coming up later this year inlucding: primaries on June 13th, runoff primaries on August 25th, and general elections on November 3rd. With all these elections coming up in Oklahoma it’s important to think about whether you will go vote.

Professor Elix, a government professor who campaigned for Obama during his presidential runs, believes that voting is important because, “everyone has the equal vote”. It’s the only thing everyone has that is completely equal no matter the person’s social or economic standing.

Alyse Cornist, a sophomore agricultural business major, believes that voting is important because it allows everyone to express their voice. She says, “we have rights to use, so we might as well use them.” Voting is the best way for the average person to make change in government.

Voting is the best way to directly change the way the government works. Elix calls it, “the ultimate power in the United States.”

It is so powerful that a large portion of the constitution is written around protecting everyone’s right to vote. Elix says that, “There are at least 13 provisions around voting in the Constitution.“

The people who do vote are what Elix calls, “the hardcore group”. These are voters who go to every election. Elix believes they account for 40 to 45 percent of voters in any given election. Everyone else is an inconsistent voter who only votes when that election really resonates with them.

Elix has found that people choose to miss votes for a variety of reasons. Most of the time, they had more important responsibilities to take care of before they could vote.

This could include working, taking children to school, and grocery shopping. These activities take immediate priority compared to voting which is hard to feel as urgent as these required tasks.

Katrell Strain, a sophomore English major and intern for Oklahoma senator Nikki Nice, was upset he has missed the vote for mayor in his home town of OKC. He says he plans to go to all upcoming elections, but he has to make them a priority and plan around them.

Strain also feels that voting is often more inconvenient than it has to be. He says it can be a lot harder when someone has, “to navigate to the other side of their district just to go vote.” Which often costs a lot of money and time they could be using on more important things.

For many, this doesn’t feel like it’s worth their time because voting doesn’t seem to makes a change. Sometimes they feel that their options for leaders is too limited. Other times they feel their choices don’t matter because what they vote for isn’t popular enough to win.

Closed primaries are another roadblock for potential voters. Elix describes primaries as an opportunity to, “weed out a lot of bad people”. When they are closed, they aren’t able to pick the best candidate as effectively. This can lead to a chosen candidate that only resonates with die hard fans and won’t convince the average person to vote for them.

Absentee voting is a more convenient way to vote. It allows you to vote through the mail but must be applied for ahead of time. Students may also register to vote in Langston through special events but the last on held was on National Voter Registration Day, last September.

Although voting can sometimes feel hopeless, it’s a vital part of our country and many others like us. Participating and spreading the word can create the changes you want to see in the community and be what inspires other to continue making these changes.