Your Vote Matters! Make Your Voice Heard!!
Your Vote Matters! Make Your Voice Heard!!
“Vote to Get Better Life in a Better Tamil Nadu”
From the safety of our street to the quality of the air we breathe- Voting is an important way of having our say on the issues we care about. By Voting, we are also deciding who will take decisions on issues affecting our everyday life. But we need to use this Vote to have a strong and stable democracy.
History shows that democracies in danger of losing their freedom register frightening low voter turnouts. In thriving democracies, people vote in large numbers and the people’s voice remains supreme.
Why Should Every Citizen Vote?
Whether it really will make a difference?
“ Every Vote Counts ”
In a country so populous, a voter might feel that a single vote does not make any difference. However, the balance tilts when this becomes a national attitude and lakhs—perhaps crores—of votes are not cast. By casting their vote, citizens may not necessarily be able to get the best candidate elected—politics being what it is—but by avoiding casting their vote they improve the chances of the unsuitable ones winning the polls. In the end, it is only the voter who has to suffer through poor governance.
You do believe in having the right to vote but are unsure as to whether it really will make a difference?
So, should you vote or not?
Yes – if you want better healthcare, education and childcare, fairer taxation, basic income for all, good recycling facilities, better roads and transport, better local amenities because your government, national and local runs all these services and your vote in a General, Local Election will send a message about what sort of Tamil Nadu you want and expect.
Importance of Voting
- Voting is the most important way to make your voice heard on the issues that concern you.
- Voting gives you an opportunity to be part of decision-making that affects your life.
- If YOU don’t Vote Others will make the decisions for YOU!
- Decisions are made on your behalf every day, healthcare, education, housing, global issues like defence and environment and local issues like bins and leisure facilities.
The first thing we can do to support the democratic system is to vote. Then it’s to encourage people we know to vote. Then, identify the factors that keep people from voting and work on a solution.
The challenge is to find a way to convince young people that if they want to lead another life, maybe the vote is a way to get there.
“ Agent of Change ”
Voting is the agent of change. If the people of India think that the ruling government is not performing its duties satisfactorily, they can show it the door by voting against it. Refraining from doing so can result in the same party, or a worse one, being elected for the next five years.
A Challenge to Youth: To get Change, Vote!
“ Young Voters Could Make a Difference. Will They? ”
Today, the question seems almost quaint: If young people could vote, would they?
The 2019 Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha Election Date is 18.04.2019, and this election may be in the hands of youth voters. In the upcoming Tamilnadu election 2019, young people may have the opportunity to become the most influential demographic.
In the tech-connected world of millennials, there really isn’t any excuse for youths to not take an informed interest when social media like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are the top platforms used by politicians to connect with voters (Especially young voters).
Now, more than ever, it is essential that young people take advantage of their right to vote, to create a future that aligns with their fundamental beliefs and set a precedent for future generations. The youth vote has the potential to be extremely influential in the country, as they constitute a majority of eligible voters.
Youths account for half of the voting population, as a result, this makes them a powerful political force. Moreover, since the often-times, young people are hit hardest by recessions and other economic turmoils, they have the power to support and vote for the candidates whom they feel best to represent their needs and aspirations. Better yet, youths must stand up and vote for their fellow young people if they want to see the change that is in their favour.
And young people are the reason our leaders had fought so hard for the country’s future. The youths nowadays are educated and bright. You should be able to determine the wrong from the right!
“Make sure you’re civically engaged and you vote for people that you want. Change doesn’t happen overnight. Change starts with you.”
-Chedi Ngulu
Tamil Nadu youth wants change. But to get change, they must be active participants in the Tamil Nadu Assembly election 2019. It’s an incredible opportunity for change and for civic engagement and for organizing young people to be more engaged in their community.
We are telling it to the young people of Tamil Nadu to make sure that they’re civically engaged and they vote for people that they want in the coming Indian general election 2019.
Change doesn’t happen overnight. Change starts with us, and casting our vote for people who will deliver in our best interests will lead to the change we want.
Be a responsible youth and remember, one extra vote will make a difference. Make your voice heard in The Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha election 2019.
Shape the future with your vote, Because you can!
Let’s get real for a second. If you haven’t realized this yet, YOU are the generation inheriting the country and its future and YOU have this right to democracy. It is your due diligence to research into all the election elements.
Examine what is promised and what will be at stake, then go ahead and cast your vote. Make it count!
All the young people in India should remember that voting is both a privilege and a duty that comes with democracy. While not all countries in the world practice democracy, our beloved India does (lucky us!).
In many countries including India people have fought for the Vote. But we need to use this Vote to have a strong and stable democracy. Remember Your Vote is Your Voice and by Voting in the upcoming elections 2019, you can hold politicians accountable. Democracy and Voting matter and your say is important!
So, exercise this right, carry this responsibility, and choose wisely on the Election Day 18th April 2019. The nation’s future is in your vote!
Now that you are better informed about why it is important to vote, remember to take with you all that you will need on voting day(18.04.2019). Knowing which voting centre and how to get there, personal identification (Voter Id, License) are the absolute essentials.
Your Vote Is Not For Sale!
“Politicians will come to your locality every day and try to influence you through their poll manifesto. Do not believe in them. You should not sell your vote but vote for the right candidate Before choosing a leader, check his profile “
– former Advisor to the Election Commission K G Rao
Selling your vote makes for bad governance, encourages corruption and is very likely to keep some of the best potential candidates from running for office.
Elections can cost four or five times an MP’s annual salary. So election finance gets locked into a cycle of political corruption. This corruption prevents well-qualified people who can’t afford to give away money from running for office.
So long as you believe that your vote is secret, there’s a strong incentive to take money from everybody and vote the way your conscience would have directed you anyway.
Why do candidates try to buy your votes?
Candidates give out money not because they particularly think it’s a great way of winning an election, but because voters demand it.
A lot of candidates see “buying votes” as an expensive, and ineffective, practice. But voters should wake up to the problems they create by taking the handouts. When candidates give away money, it is very likely to increase corruption by making officials beholden to people other than those they are supposed to serve.
Don’t sell your vote. Don’t allow that someone pressures you to vote for a specific party. Don’t be afraid to vote for the party or alliance of your choice. It is up to the individual citizen that the elections will reflect the real will of the people. And if you witness vote buying, threats or pressure do not hesitate to inform it to the concerned person.
Instead of taking cash from candidates, ask for commitments — specific promises of action for your community for which you can hold them accountable.
“A good leader … says ‘believe in yourself’ versus ‘believe in me’ ”
Finally, voting is an honour conferred on the citizens by the founding fathers. By exercising their right to vote, citizens demonstrate their respect for the history of the country.
If you let go of your vote for the government of your choice, you are basically saying goodbye to the opportunity to have any influence as to how these issues play out in your world.
It can’t be denied that the recent democratic experience in India has not been encouraging. For the past several years, India has been struggling with rampant corruption, unsure economy, and unclear foreign policy. Election after election has seen ineffective governments come to power that have done more harm than good. However, not casting one’s vote will only worsen the condition. It is our duty as responsible citizens of India to make informed decisions and choose the best candidate from those presented. Moreover, with reforms like Right to Reject gaining wider support, it wouldn’t be long before the system of election is improved.
Above all, voting is an important right. We are lucky to live in a country that is a democracy, and it would be an insult to our forefathers and a let-down to our progeny to forgo our voting rights. The younger, the more involved we have to be. Our silence will lead us to deal with the challenges longer. Let us break the silence and influence our political arena in the upcoming Tamilnadu Election 2019.
What political future would you like to see? Let us grab the chance to express our views. Let us be active in our democracy! The younger we are, the longer we will have to deal with the consequences of the forthcoming elections.
Let us break the misconception that youths are not interested in political matters. We have an opportunity to elect wisely ethical leaders. We have been given a ‘blank cheque” and only we can decide whether or not to use it. The ball is in our court. Let us play it wisely on 18th April 19.
