TO THE EDITOR:
As the year heads into autumn and the election season moves into full swing, I see movements like Rock the Vote attempting to encourage a greater number of people to register. These movements often target college-aged Americans, a demographic group with a noticeably low voter turnout rate.
While it is a popular opinion that increased voter turnout is inherently positive, I offer a different viewpoint.
Voting is one of the few areas of American life in which specialization is not required for an opinion to be considered. Electricians are not often asked their opinion on which candidate should become the dean of medicine at the local teaching hospital.
Before you go to the polls on Election Day, I urge you to ask yourself this question: “Am I actually qualified to give my opinion on which person should be the chief executive of the federal government?”
If you know nothing of the policy proposals of candidates, please do not vote. If you cannot name a single third-party candidate, please do not vote. If you cannot give a ballpark figure of the U.S. national debt, please do not vote.
The ability to cast a ballot is justly protected by the federal Constitution and you have every right to exercise that freedom, but having the right to do something does not mean that you should actually do it.
Some say that voting is a civic duty and I do not disagree, but I believe that being an informed citizen is a prerequisite responsibility.
Joe Crawford ’15
Economics
