by Caitlin Maguire
Rock the Vote

Polls are everywhere. You have to know what I’m talking about: national polls, swing state polls, likeability polls, Ohio polls. The groups conducting these polls package up voters’ complex, ever-changing, annoyingly fickle feelings into neat, little statistics every hour.

Yes, this plethora of polls is understandably anxiety-inducing. If you’re a political junkie like me, then sometimes my guy is ahead, sometimes he’s behind, and sometimes all I need is some consistency in order to get some sleep at night. While polls will continue to run wild until Election Day, there is one glimmer of consistency that has surfaced from this messy pile of percentages: this is a close race. So close that no soothsayer, no poll, no superstition could confidently predict it right now. This means that, more than ever, your vote counts this November. The candidate you support is in dire need of your vote because a close race can be decided by a small margin of voters.

Look at the election of 2000. President George W. Bush beat Vice President Al Gore by just 500 votes in the popular vote. Think of the number of people in your average college class; 500 of those people could have decided the 2000 election. Think of all of the people who decided not to vote in 2000; maybe they thought they were taking a stand by not voting, or maybe they were just too lazy. Either way, they could have changed the history of our electorate if they had decided to walk or drive to their local polling place and pull a lever.

The closeness of the election of 2000 could happen to any candidate. And you don’t want your candidate to lose because a couple hundred, or thousand, or even ten thousand people decided not to vote on Election Day. You don’t want to be one of those people, especially when the presidential race we’re currently facing is such a nail-biter.

If anything, these neck-and-neck polls show that every vote matters. “My vote won’t make a difference” is not an excuse. Your vote does make a difference. Your vote could be one to swing this election.

So cast a ballot this Election Day. Let’s finally harness our power and show those polls whose boss. Let’s participate in an election where each candidate, every polling group, and the rest of the country are waiting with bated breath for our vote.

Find all the information you need to cast a ballot at www.rockthevote.com

Caitlin joined Rock the Vote in 2010 and serves as Marketing Manager, supporting event activations, artist engagement, sponsorship development and partnership building. While at Rock the Vote she has successfully executed dozens of concert promotions with Rock the Vote artists, developed creative campaigns for sponsors and forged national partnerships that helped extend the brands’ reach and visibility among young Americans. Caitlin was a Marketing Intern for Epic Records in 2008 and 2009. She graduated from Union College with a BA in English in 2010.