I love the act of voting. I was reminded of this today on my trip to the ballot box, and then again when I opened Facebook and saw my memory from 2013: “Good luck to Ryan Cangialosi on his town elections tn. You got this, son!”
Because for me, voting in an election isn’t just about that top-of-ticket circle. Yes, sure, I ostensibly go to the polls to vote for a president or congressperson most times, but that’s still only part of the allure. It isn’t so much about that top-line item—it’s about influencing everything below it.
I love that I’m granted that privilege as an American. I love that I can be civically engaged. There’s something about knowing I tried to make a difference that excites me, really gets me going. I vote in every election possible—and often find that the non-presidential elections are just as valuable for me to vote in. Election day is my one chance every year(ish) to try and make my voice heard in this country.
It’s a shame to me that more people don’t look at it that way.
I’m willing to bet that this year, a record number of voters do turn out to cast a ballot for Harris or Trump. But if they weren’t running against each other—imagine a world where Trump doesn’t exist, perhaps?—do you think the number would be that high? I’m of the variety that thinks our voter turnout should be up near 80 percent—every single time.
That’s because there are other things to vote for today. In my home state of Massachusetts, I felt that I cast five important votes for ballot questions—ones that everyone in the state should have a say in. Should servers and bartenders be put on minimum wage guaranteed? Is the MCAS actually useful in any way, shape, or form to determine if a kid can graduate high school? Why can’t my friend with mental health issues use microdoses of mushrooms or other psychedelics for treatments—he can get doped up on prescription pills no problem!
That’s why I want to vote every chance I can get—because down-ballot votes actually impact my life.
Like the time I was able to vote for myself for Recreation Commission, or when I voted for my dad to be a library trustee, or my uncle a selectman. I got to vote and make a tangible difference in people’s lives. It’s why I vote in every election I can.
I was curious today if that makes me any kind of special. Voting every election cycle isn’t difficult, especially in the age of mail-in voting and early voting. But when I did a cursory search for info on men around age 35 (like me) that vote, I found a nice Pew Research story from 2023 looking at voter turnout over the three elections from 2018-2022 for all eligible voters: Only 37 percent of the country vote in all three elections—nearly a 50/50 split between D’s and R’s. Thirty-seven percent of the population! That’s abysmal if we want our election systems working properly. What’s even scarier? 30 percent of the population voted in none of them.
We need to do better about this as a country. Not because of who is at the top of the tickets today—but because of what’s down below. If 30 percent of Massachusetts doesn’t have a say on the Article questions—is it truly the will of the people? Or just the will of the organized? Now, yes, there’s something to be said for turning voters out and getting the result you want. And maybe that 30 percent just doesn’t give a fuck one way or another if little Johnny has to take a test to graduate high school—but it makes me sad if that’s the case. We should care. If all of us did, maybe our town governments would function a bit better and be more representative. I know I live in a majority white community in the hills of Western Mass., but damn if it ain’t an ol’ boys club just about everywhere I look.
This could veer off into a much larger discussion about community, or the lack thereof, in today’s society. Or I could write about my idea that would require IDs while voting—but as part of a much larger overhaul in how we identify our population and give them access to said identification (that same Pew Research article notes the vast discrepancies between consistent voting and race—we need to fix that, this could help). But brevity is key and I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep. So instead, we’ll cut this at just a ramble.
Voting makes me excited for life and fills me with vigor. I want to instill that in my daughter, too, so that she knows how important her vote can be. I hope if you read this, maybe you’ll be inspired to get out and vote more, too. And if you live in my town, get inspired by this and want to run—pitch me why I should vote for you. I turn out every time.
P.S. — On the outro, leaving a song in here today. I never got on the Chance the Rapper hype train that much when he first came up, but lately I’ve started listening to his new Star Line stuff and I’m mightily impressed. I don’t know the intricacies of why or how he “fell off” but if this is the comeback, it’s a fucking great one. Also dropping because headline today riffs off one part of this song that I’ve been using as a pump-up anthem. “I’m like ‘ah, man, I don’t give a fuck my hands up in the air, a lot of these days I just don’t care. I gotta lotta things I have to share, for anyone out there willing to hear.”
A Whately Devil 