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Mackenzie Gallant

Mr. Cosmin Ritivoiu

English 102

2 February 2015

A Candidate or a Party

When the presidential election time comes around in the United States of America,

people get excited. News articles and photographs describe and portray the candidates and their

lives. Social media watches and comments on their every move. Candidates bash and begin

rumors about the other candidates. Party members stop talking to opposing party members. The

Presidential elections affect the entire nation. However, when voters get into the voting booth, all

of those outside influences may or may not impact a voters decision. For many it is the party of

the candidate that determines who they vote for. Before a person votes, it is more important that

they has an understanding of the candidates beliefs than a parties beliefs.

History of Voting

Informed voting has been a problem for the United States of America ever since this

country was first established. Ellen G. White says in her book Counsels for the Church

concerning voting while she was alive: We cannot with safety vote for political parties; for we

do not know whom we are voting for (316). During the late 1800s and early 1900s, informed

voting was nearly nonexistent. Presidential candidates would have to travel all over the country

by foot, horse-drawn carriage, or train. There was no television, internet, or social media.

Candidates were not able to travel to every single city in the country. For many people, the only

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information they knew about the candidates was by word of mouth. This shared information may

or may not have been correct. It was very hard to be an informed voter at that time in history.

Fast forward to the 21st century, and amazingly it is still hard to be an informed voter. In

the world today there is so much technology and everyone knows the candidates running for

president. However, knowing who someone is does not necessarily equate knowing their beliefs.

Parties control most of the social media that is shown about the candidates. As a result, most

people only know what the party wants them to know about the candidates. Other parties will try

to find flaws in the opposing candidates, and vice versa, but the information that voters know

about the potential leaders of the United States of America is still limited. The technological

advances of the 21st century have not dramatically helped to make voters more informed.

Recently in the United States, a new process of voting has started called straight-ticket or

straight-party voting. This process of voting makes it possible for a voter to vote for every

candidate of a specific party very easily. A persons decision for who they vote for should not be

dependent on a party, but rather on that candidatess personal convictions. The partys do not

always accurately describe the beliefs of a candidate. As a result, a persons relations to a

political party does not necessarily mean that their beliefs perfectly match those of the political

party.

Americans are not required to vote. It is a privilege for people eighteen years and older

that are American citizens. Many other countries do not have this same privilege that citizens of

the United States hold. In the famous Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln stated that a,

government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. A goal

of the American government was that it should be a government designed for the residents of the

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country. As a result, American citizens are allowed to vote and make decisions as a country.

Many other countries are not allowed this privilege. However, it is a privilege that should not be

abused. US citizens are given a gift of being able to decide the fate of their country. It is

important to be informed about the person one chooses to vote for.

Why Some Choose a Party

One reason that may be why people vote for only one party is because of a psychological

connection they feel with that party. If a person feels close or a connection with someone or

something, they are bound to act more favorably for that item. This same rule applies to voting.

If a party makes a person feel special or part of something, it could make the person more prone

to voting for that party. It is easier for a person to identify with a party- a large group with more

general beliefs- than for a person to identify with another single person.

Often times the reason a person identifies with a party is because the way the party

portrays themselves and their beliefs (Campbell, Green, Laymen, 1). There is nothing wrong

with identifying with a party, but it is important to remember that the way a party is portraying

themselves to be may not define each candidate specifically. Often times, voters get the party and

the candidate confused. A candidate can not be assumed to be good because of the party that they

associate with.

While many are not informed about candidates, and some are not informed about the

parties that are associated with them, research shows that many in the United States are not

knowledgeable about many things in the US Government. The Pew Research Center did a

nationwide survey of 1,002 adults about key facts in politics, ranging from current world events

to names of important politicians to the national minimum wage. Out of the 12 questions that

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were asked, the 1,002 participants got on average 5 questions correct. While 73% of the

participants were able to say what the current minimum wage is, only 24% knew that Janet L.

Yellen is the chief of federal reserve, and a surprising 20% knew the percent of Americans living

at or below the federal poverty line (Doherty, Tyson, Weisel). Janet L. Yellen was brought into

her position in 2014 by President Obama and will be serving for four years. But many Americans

do not know about her or the role she plays in the government. When a President is elected into

office they have many choices to make regarding workers in government. This is one of the

many important reasons that Americans must know who they are voting for in the presidential

election. When voting for a presidential candidate it is important to know the candidate well

because they determine who holds a lot of political positions. While this study did not encompass

a large amount of people in the United States of America, this nation as a whole needs to become

more informed about the government of this country. It is a government for the people, but many

do not know what this means.

As Christians, it is important to remember that if the person one votes for gets elected

into office and make poor decisions, the voters are responsible for those decisions. The people

of God are not to vote to place such men in office; for when they do this, they are partakers with

them of the sins which they commit while in office (Fundamentals of Christian Education, 475).

Ellen White said this in regards to voting for politicians who were working towards passing a

Sunday Law, but the message that it holds still applies to the world. By voting for a politician,

one is condoning their decisions. Before a person is to vote, they must have a knowledge of what

the candidate will vote for and the beliefs that he or she holds. If a person decides to vote for a

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candidate, an understanding of what is to be expected of the candidate in office is necessary. Not

voting at all could have be just as bad as an uninformed vote.

How to Be an Informed Voter

A website called smartvoter.org was set up by the League of Women Voters of

California to help give voters unbiased information regarding candidates in the presidential

election. On their website, an article can be found titled How to Judge a Candidate. In this article

helpful tips can be found regarding how to judge and choose which candidate an individual

should vote for. This website also offers information and past records about potential presidents.

Smartvoter.org is a good tool for becoming an informed voter.

The first step found on the article How to Judge a Candidate is for a person to decide on

what they are looking for in a candidate. Candidates can be judged in two ways: the positions

they take on issues and the leadership qualities and experience they would bring to

office (smartvoter.org). It is important for a person to know what is expected out of a political

candidate before a person votes. A voter should know what they expect or want out of a possible

president.

The next few steps mentioned can be summed up in researching and learning about the

candidates. It is beneficial to know all the possible candidates and what they stand for. The

wellbeing of the entire country should be kept in mind, not just the wants of a single person or

area. Learning what a specific candidates beliefs are rather than what a party stands for is vital

to informed voting. Good ways to learn about a candidate include reading their materials as well

as looking at their past stances and decisions. Some time should also be spent looking at a

candidates leadership abilities, since this is a necessary trait for a good president. Talking to

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others can also help when deciding who to vote for, but it is important not to take one persons

opinion as law. Comparing what a candidate stands for and what a person is looking for in their

government is a good way to know which candidate to vote for.

The third step to becoming an informed voter is to analyze the found information about

the candidates as well as avoiding distortion techniques.

All candidates are trying to sell themselves to voters. Sometimes their

language is so skillfully crafted that they distort the truth in way(s) that are

difficult for even the most careful observer to detect. (smartvoter.org)

Smartvoter.org offered a list of common distortion techniques that are used by presidential

candidates. One common distortion technique is appealing to prejudice. These are attacks on an

opponent on a characteristic that they can not control, such as race, ethnicity, or marital status

(ibid.). Another technique is rumor mongering, implying but not blatantly stating a wrongdoing

of an opponent. A third distortion technique is guilt by association, or condemning another

candidate because of their support instead of their beliefs. Guilt by association is a large

benefactor to straight-ticket voting because if one party is using guilt by association against

another party it would encourage voting for only one party. Another distortion technique is

catchwords. When President Obama was running for president he was very keen on using this

technique. Obamas slogan for his campaign was change and even after the election was long

past he is still remembered for it. Election bumper stickers can still be found on cars. The

problem with the catchword technique is that often the catchwords that are used are not backed

up with action. The way Obama used catchwords goes hand in hand with another technique,

promising the sky. Promising the sky is making promises that no one elected could ever fulfill.

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Obama promised more change than anyone could provide with the state of this country at that

time. Another distortion technique is passing the blame, or assigning fault or responsibilities to

an opponent that had no control over the situation. A final technique is evading real issues, which

means avoiding answering questions by answering vaguely or changing the topic. It is important

to know these distortion techniques and to watch out for them when deciphering and learning

about candidates.

After analyzing the history and distortion techniques of each candidate separately, the

final step is to compare them to each other. There may be faults or downfalls in a potential

politician that a person would not see unless the politician was compared with another. It is also

important to keep in mind that there will never be a perfect candidate. But being knowledgable

about shortcomings to what a person expects is truly being informed and prepared for if that

person comes into office (smartvoter.org).

Conclusion

Voting is a privilege and should be treated as such. It is not something that a person can

go into without first understanding what it means. It is very easy to side with a party, but what a

party believes is not always exactly equivalent to what a candidate under the party believes. To

be an informed voter, one should spend time investigating and researching the candidates and

different distortion techniques that they use. It is also important to remember that there is not a

perfect politician and no one maybe able to reach a persons standards. A person should be

informed and prepared for what could come to pass if a politician is voted into office.

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Works Cited

Campbell, David E., John C. Green, and Geoffrey C. Layman. "The Party Faithful: Partisan

Images, Candidate Religion, and the Electoral Impact of Party Identification." American

Journal of Political Science 55.1 (2011): 42-58. Www.nd.edu. Notre Dame. Web. 9 Feb.

2015.

Doherty, Carroll, Alec Tyson, and Rachel Weisel. "From ISIS to Unemployment: What Do

Americans Know?" Pew Research Center for the People and the Press RSS. Pew

Research Center, 02 Oct. 2014. Web. 08 Feb. 2015.

"How to Judge a Candidate." Smart Voter: How to Judge a Candidate. League of Women Voters

of California Education Fund, n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2015.

White, Ellen Gould Harmon. Counsels for the Church: A Guide to Doctrinal Beliefs and

Christian Living. Boise, ID: Pacific Pub. Association, 1991. Print.

- Fundamentals of Christian Education: Instruction for the Home, the School, and the

Church. Nashville: Southern Pub. Association, 1923. Print.