Introduction: It will be Tuesday, November 7th that about 100 million Americans will vote, but there will be another 100 million who won’t. They will do so due to their own will, and their reasons have historically included apathy, disillusionment with the political structure, and the common belief that their one vote will really not count in the large picture. According to Clinton (2000), there are other democracies in the world where people stand in line for hours and days, and fight and die for their right to vote.

Reasons Americans should vote: According to Jay (1890), “the Americans are the first people whom Heaven has favored with an opportunity of deliberating upon and choosing the forms of government under which they should live”. They should not waste this opportunity and be ignorant of the magnitude of power in their hands.

One reason for not voting is usually voter-apathy. Well, if Americans start becoming apathetic about the affairs of their country, who will ensure the enduring viability of a representative democracy? Even if one feels like their one vote will not account to a lot, if they care about education and jobs, military and foreign policy, healthcare and reform, they owe it to themselves and to their country to vote. It was Jefferson (1900) who put forward an important reason for voting: “Should things go wrong at any time, the people will set them to rights by the peaceable exercise of their elective rights”. Also, now is the time when more than ever, it is people who are themselves responsible for the character of their Congress – the ball is in our court (Burts, 2000).

Conclusion: Americans have to protect democracy because they have opened doors for democratic governments in Iran and Afghanistan and they can do so by fulfilling their obligation to cast a vote.