Staff Editorial: The importance of voting in non-presidential elections

As a community composed of a majority of undergraduate students who mostly range in ages 18-22, many of us on this campus experience our first instances of voting at Geneseo; however, this does not mean that most students’ first election that they can vote in is a presidential general election. 

2022 is a midterm election year where the seats of Congress will be contested and decided. Though most students might jump to the election of the presidential office as the most important election that they can participate in, local and midterm elections are equally if not more important to these grander races.

Of course, the politicians occupying higher-up offices like the presidency hold a significant level of prestige and importance in U.S. politics, policies, and international relations; however, it is local and smaller-scale elections that tend to have a larger impact on the day-to-day operations of a community. Though the president and Congress have vast amounts of power that can influence national policy, the policies established locally are far more likely to impact what you are allowed to do and how you function within your town and living space.

Because many students enter our first opportunity of voting in the microcosm of college, there are many factors we may feel we need to evaluate not only who to vote for, but whether or not we should vote. One of the primary reasons that eligible voters choose not to vote is because they do not feel that their vote makes a difference, as one of the hundreds of millions of voters and counterproductive systems like the electoral college swaying the actual interest of those who do decide to vote.

While these feelings of frustration and helplessness are justified, this does not mean that voting is a futile attempt to change future policies in government on all levels. The electoral college is an institution that seems to particularly frustrate and discourage voters during presidential elections; however, the electoral college does not apply to midterm and local elections, meaning there is more potential for voters to have more of a direct impact on the outcomes of the elections that they participate in.

This year’s election is not a presidential election, but a midterm election; this means that seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate are up for grabs, as well as positions in state and local government. The politicians who represent your interests in Congress and the politicians who make decisions that impact your local government can have monumental impacts on what your day-to-day life might look like for the next year or two, regardless of the fact that the office of the president is not being contested in this election year.

Whatever your politics, it is imperative to normalize and encourage voting in your own life and community. Though many of us do not live in Geneseo year-round, our perspective matters in defining the policies that will determine our everyday lives while we are here in the coming years. If you do not wish to vote here in Geneseo, you can always vote in your hometown election by requesting an absentee ballot.