In the past four years, a lot has changed to say the least. Among these changes, every four years a new group of high school students can vote. For all of us at Ames High this will be our first vote so let’s make sure it counts. With the culmination of Covid-19 and lack of in person voting centers, mail in voting will be the new norm for many Americans. 

To make sure your vote is accounted for you have to send in your ballot BEFORE the cutoff. In Iowa that day is October 24th, 10 days before the general election. If you are 18 or will be 18 by election day, make sure to register to vote. The state will send a mail-in ballot to every registered voter (in fact, many people have already received theirs.) 

Iowa is one of the most impactful states in this election because there is a high number of new voters.  Iowa is and almost always has been a swing state, which means the new voters have a very high impact on the election. Although mail-in voting isn’t a new concept, it helps fight voter suppression and promotes national involvement. Everybody’s votes count, but some people don’t have time to go to an in person voting site. For those who work long hours and are also busy at home now have a much less time consuming way to vote, making it a smaller commitment. It doesn’t interfere with your day and you don’t have to worry about catching Covid at a voting site. Rural voters don’t have to travel to a voting center and intercity centers won’t be overcrowded. 

A common form of voter suppression is designating too many people to one voting site. This usually happens in urban areas where the vote is mostly working class people who don’t have a long time to go vote during a work day. Mail in voting could forever change the dynamic of the presidential election with more participation and less inequality with the vote. 

There’s lots of misinformation about fraudulent voting. We live in weird times and lots of information is thrown around about false data. Fraudulent votes are not prevalent and  make up for approximately 0.0025% of votes. Mail in voting is no different than in person voting when it comes to voting safety. 

The election is right around the corner, don’t miss it!