Election 2024: The Battle for America's Future – Your Vote Your Voice. Make your voice heard!

Changing the track for this week's post with less than 100 days until the US election I feel this is a hot topic and top of mind for most people who will be going to vote in November 2024 one of the most consequential elections of the century!

The greatest power of all time is voting choosing an elected official who would work in favor of “People” making policies that will benefit the majority of people. I say majority because I feel making everyone happy is ultra difficult if not impossible.

Here are some key data points that I was able to research on. I will come back to it later in the post to explain why setting up this context is imperative:

• Roughly 240 million eligible voters in the United States about 158 million cast their ballots meaning 82 million people did NOT even choose to vote in the 2020 election.
• Approximately 43% of votes were cast by mail in 2020. Now this is a very interesting fact and I would love to talk more about that later but it seems like voters used this facility to cast their vote on a phenomenal level!

Data sources: Census.gov, USAFacts

Now let’s look at different data points:

• Democratic Party: Approximately 49 million registered voters making up about 36% of the total registered voters.
• Republican Party: Approximately 38.8 million registered voters accounting for about 29% of the total.
• Independents: Approximately 31% of registered voters identified as independents or were unaffiliated with the two major parties.
• Other Parties: Around 4.3 million voters or about 3.7% were registered with other political parties such as the Libertarian or Green Party.

Data sources: Ballotpedia, Pew Research Center, World Population Review

This is a super interesting dataset to look at. Almost 60% of voters have already made up their minds who to vote for as they have shown/registered their affiliation to a political party! Only 30% of voters considered as SWING/Independent carry the weight to actually choose which party will be coming to the White House the most powerful precious and coveted place in the entire world and who will be crowned on the “Throne aka the POWER”. Thinking if I can draw that out in a picture how it will look.

When people vote for a particular party based on long-standing affiliation irrespective of the leader it's akin to playing Russian Roulette. You might get a great leader who makes impactful policies or you could end up with a leader who prioritizes personal agendas over national interests potentially causing harm for four years.

Now imagine a different scenario. What if 100% of registered voters actually voted? What if all voters were independent thinkers not tied to any party or personality but instead focused solely on the policies these politicians propose? That would truly matter. This shift would ensure that leaders are chosen based on their vision and plans for the future not just their party's history. It would lead to a government that genuinely reflects the will and needs of the people making each vote a powerful tool for positive change.

Such an electorate could redefine democracy turning it into a true reflection of informed engaged citizens dedicated to the common good. Imagine the possibilities if every vote counted every voice was heard and every policy was scrutinized for its potential to benefit society as a whole. Now that would be a game-changer.

It’s imperative that people vote and choose all voices must be heard. There is a case in history when voices were not heard when people actually refrained from choosing to “vote.” Did you know that Adolf Hitler’s party never won any majority in three separate elections that were conducted in July 1932 Nov 1932 and again in March 1933? In all those elections the best the Nazi party ever got was 33-37% meaning the remaining 63-67% of people did NOT even approve of the Nazi party. But we all know the history once this party came into power. Between 70 million and 85 million people lost their lives. This would have changed if the majority of people who did not vote might have voted; the course of history would have changed forever!

Data sources: CWGC, The National WWII Museum, USHMM

Similarly in the most recent UK local elections held in May 2023 around 27 million people were eligible to vote. The voter turnout was approximately 32% meaning around 8.64 million people cast their votes. Now this is a super sad and super scary stat! 68% of people didn’t even care to vote! Why? The number one reason was lack of interest or engagement: A significant number of non-voters cited a lack of interest in politics or feeling that their vote would not make a difference as reasons for not participating.

Data sources: Commons Library, Electoral Commission

I would hate to see this country go through the same sentiments ever.

Coming back to the topic I spent a lot of time studying the last ten election cycles and I am sure many out there have done the same but what I could understand is that there are still five fundamental areas where the majority of people’s interest lies:

• Economy: Always a primary concern the specifics (like inflation in 2024) may vary but economic health remains crucial.
• Healthcare: Persistent as a top issue due to ongoing debates about healthcare reform and costs.
• National Security: Although the focus might shift (e.g. terrorism post-9/11 versus cyber threats) security concerns persist.
• Immigration: Consistently a hot topic due to its implications for national identity economy and security.
• Social and Environmental Issues: These have grown in importance reflecting changing societal values and increased awareness of climate change.

Data sources: Federal Reserve Economic Data, 24/7 Wall St., Gallup, Pew Research Center, Council on Foreign Relations

The economy is always the number one concern for people next to healthcare! Interestingly they carry more weight than security immigration and the environment. Now priorities can shift depending on whom you talk to but most top-of-mind concerns for people would fall under these 5 major buckets. More importantly the political party whose policies resonate with most people will be elected to power in 2025. I can only hope and plead that the majority of people participate in this election choose to vote and most crucially choose wisely! Your voice matters.

Would love to hear your thoughts and comments on this post. Thank you for reading!

Disclaimer:
The views expressed here are solely my own and do not represent those of Microsoft or its affiliates. These posts are based on my personal experiences and insights and are intended for informational purposes only. To respect privacy I use generic names positions titles timelines and incidents enhanced creatively to illustrate points. My aim is to foster sharing and learning not criticism.