Voting is a topic on many people’s minds right now. There are those that believe it a moral imperative to vote for either the Republican or Democratic candidate. Of the two elections I’ve been capable of voting in so far, I’ve chosen to vote in neither. 

This isn’t for lack of political opinion—I do have a candidate I prefer over the other. Why then, you may ask, don’t I vote? To be clear, just because I don’t vote doesn’t mean I do not care about today’s issues. I do not support any attack on LGBTQ+ rights or any forms of racism.

One of my reasons for not voting has to do with the information voters are given leading up to the election. I don’t feel I can get rid of my biased filter if I choose to vote because of propaganda. A larger portion of people are influenced by this propaganda than you may think. Costas Panagopoulos, a professor of political science at Northeastern University, conducted a study where he sent out postcards to random citizens to test if those who received them would be more likely to vote for him in a New York election. He found that those who received the postcards were in fact more likely to vote for him. 

This study shows one major flaw with voting in general. Is it the propaganda that is causing you to vote for a candidate or is it your previous knowledge of the candidate? It’s hard to separate the two. Aligning yourself with a political power is dangerous, especially if you don’t fully understand the person you are supporting.  

Not voting is where I like to stand so that I can see both sides of the issue. By choosing not to vote, I feel I can better listen to both sides. There is a divide in the Church based on politics. As a Christian, I don’t believe that I am a citizen of the United States first, although that is part of my identity. I believe that I am first and foremost a citizen of God’s kingdom. This is why it saddens me to see that there is such a divide in the church over the matter of politics. I have seen people be put down for their viewpoints for rooting for the “wrong side” in my church. This is a trap I never want to fall into, and for me, voting would be the thing that would give me the ‘“us” versus “them”’ mentality. 

This divide is even more ridiculous when you consider the postcard experiment Panagopoulos did. Some people argue simply because they think the candidate is “nice.” There are some mean leaders out there who have gotten brilliant results. 

There are counterarguments to a lot of the things I have stated. That’s why I need to say that it is a conviction I hold. It isn’t a secret, and I understand it’s controversial. I also don’t expect people not to vote because of my opinion, for that I would have to claim that I have the “moral high ground.” What I do hope is that people can treat each other nicely regardless of party affiliation.