Your Vote Matters


This Tuesday is Election Day in the United States. The midterms of 1982 was the first election I was old enough to participate in. I had turned 18 earlier that year, but considered not voting. As a college student more interested in music and video games, I knew very little about the candidates running for various offices in Minnesota. However, my dad nudged me to go to the polls. 


After committing my life to Jesus in 1991, I learned Christians have a responsibility to vote. Still, I often skipped the primaries and midterms thinking they weren’t as important as the presidential elections. But voting for governors, congressmen, and judges are just as critical. Bad decisions by bad politicians can have immediate affects such as those who imposed lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.


An excuse some Americans use when skipping an election is “my vote doesn’t matter.” They think their ballot won’t make a difference since politicians often win elections by thousands or even millions of votes. That wasn’t the case with the 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. More than 100 million ballots were cast (that was just over half of eligible voters). It was so close that it came down to a margin of 537 votes in Florida.


Consider these other elections:

  • In 1962, governors of Maine, Rhode Island and North Dakota were elected by an average of one vote per precinct.
  • In 1977, Vermont State representative Sydney Nixon was seated as an apparent one vote winner, 570 to 569. Mr. Nixon resigned when the State House determined, after a recount, that he had actually lost to his opponent Robert Emond 572 to 571.
  • In Minnesota’s 2008 U.S. Senate race, Al Franken ran against Republican incumbent Norm Coleman. It took a recount and months of litigation before a court ultimately determined that Franken won by just 312 votes. The ruling’s effect went beyond Minnesota. It was issued by Alan Page, a former NFL player who was later elected as a judge on the Minnesota Supreme Court. As a result, Senate Democrats had a 60-40 majority and bypassed the filibuster. Obamacare became the law of the land, giving the government greater control over our lives. 

Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Our nation could experience more government tyranny if not enough God-fearing Americans educate themselves before going to the polls. There are an estimated 90 million evangelical Christians eligible to vote in this country. Sadly, 40 million of them do not vote. 15 million are not even registered! Keep in mind that Adolf Hitler and the Nazis gradually gained power in Germany through legal means. 


One thing I don’t like about this time of the year is all the political ads in the media. Most of them are negative. They give reasons why we shouldn’t vote for a particular candidate. Some of these ads don’t even talk about who we should vote for! 


No politician is perfect but we should aim to vote for those whose policies are most closely aligned with the Judeo-Christian values this nation was founded upon. So please make sure you're registered to vote and then research the candidates before going to the polls. Don’t let ads influence you on who to vote for. Instead of focusing on a candidate's personality, examine his and her policies and specifically their party platform. One leader’s decision can ultimately impact the lives of your children and grandchildren.


“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” - Deuteronomy 30:19 

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