Skip to main content
CNN Opinion
Part of complete coverage on
Election Center
 

Vote, damn it!

By Dean Obeidallah, Special to CNN
updated 7:00 AM EST, Sun November 4, 2012
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, order food at a Wendy's restuarant in Richmond Heights, Ohio, on Tuesday. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, order food at a Wendy's restuarant in Richmond Heights, Ohio, on Tuesday.
HIDE CAPTION
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
From the campaign trail
<<
<
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
>
>>
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Dean Obeidallah: We have one of the lowest voter turnout rates among wealthy countries
  • Obeidallah: You'd better vote! Decisions made by elected officials really impact your life
  • He says even a few votes can make a difference in deciding which candidate wins
  • Obeidallah: We should create more incentives for people to cast their ballot

Editor's note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is a political comedian and frequent commentator on various TV networks including CNN. He is the editor of the politics blog "The Dean's Report" and co-director of the upcoming documentary "The Muslims Are Coming!" Follow him on Twitter: @deanofcomedy

(CNN) -- You'd better vote! I really want to channel my inner Samuel L. Jackson and use some truly descriptive words to convey my feelings and "strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger," but instead, I will do my best to take "the path of the righteous man."

Why vote? What does it matter? Politicians are all the same. I don't like any of them.

We have all heard these reasons from those who don't vote. In the midterm election of 2010, only about 41% of those eligible to vote actually voted. We have one of the lowest voter turnout rates among the wealthy countries in the world. Even North Korea had a voter turnout of 54% in 2012. When we are losing in voter turnout to a country that isn't even considered a democracy, you know something is really screwed up.

I don't want to give you clichéd arguments on why you should vote. We all know them. It's your civic duty as a citizen. Others have sacrificed so that you can vote. There are people in the world literally dying for the right to vote.

Dean Obeidallah
Dean Obeidallah

Opinion: Why I vote, and you should too

As valid as these reasons are, clearly they aren't enough to inspire many Americans to engage in the electoral process. So here's what I have to say: If you don't think the decisions made by elected officials impact your daily life, you are either uniformed or in denial. Either way, wake the f#%^ up!

Laws and regulations enacted by our elected officials affect our lives in meaningful ways. Whether it's health insurance coverage, equal pay for women, tax rates, disaster preparedness or zoning rules in your community, you can be sure that you will feel the effect of good or bad government policies.

Jewish voters may decide winner in Fla.
Psaki: 'Confident' voters will vote
Tracking Ohio's ballots

Bottom line: This election is not about Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, or Democrats and Republicans. It's about how you and your family will fare because of the policies put in place by our politicians.

And here's the remarkable thing about our presidential elections: Even a few votes can make a difference in deciding which candidate wins.

In 2000, George W. Bush won the state of Florida by 537 votes, giving him the electoral votes needed to capture the White House. That's it: 537 people. There are probably more Kardashians on TV shows than that.

Amazingly, some governor and U.S. Senate races have been decided by even fewer votes. In 2008, Al Franken won his U.S. Senate seat by 312 votes. And in 2004, the governor's race in Washington state was decided by 133 votes -- 133 people! You probably have more Facebook friends or Twitter followers than that.

And if you're a contrarian by nature, maybe this will change your mind.

Despite the fact that over $6 billion will likely be spent on this year's election, many of the people spending that money actually don't want you to vote if you are not supporting their candidate. The vicious negative campaign ads they produce, for example, are in part intended to turn voters off completely.

Instead of voting for the opposition, they would prefer you stay home and watch "Jersey Shore" or repeats of "Everybody Loves Raymond." Do not reward these people by voluntarily giving up your right to vote.

The one excuse for not voting that truly resonates is that people have been unable to take the time off from work to vote on Election Day. But thankfully, more than 30 states now have early voting. Hopefully in the future early voting will come to every state.

But we shouldn't just bemoan those who don't vote. Instead, we should be creating more incentives for people to cast their ballot. Why can't voting be fun and exciting? Let's have voting machine that are in essence also a slot machine so that voters can win prizes, maybe a $25 gift card to The Cheesecake Factory or P.F. Changs.

Why not have celebrities at the polling places? You can vote and get a photo with Honey Boo Boo. Or watch Buddy Valastro "the Cake Boss" make a special election- themed cake.

If that doesn't work, maybe it's time to impose penalties on those who don't vote. Not legally mandated voting like in Australia -- although that country does boast a 93% voter turnout in its last election. But more practical consequences, such as if you don't vote in a presidential election, you will be banned for a year from voting for contestants on "Dancing with the Stars," "American Idol" and "America's Got Talent."

Hopefully, the future will bring us more changes that make voting easier, such as online voting. But for now, all I can leave you with is: Vote damn it!

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dean Obeidallah.

ADVERTISEMENT
Part of complete coverage on
Opinion on the news
updated 9:45 AM EDT, Sun May 19, 2013
Bob Greene on how 18th century Americans tried to make sense of the day with no sun
updated 8:57 PM EDT, Fri May 17, 2013
With guest Rep. Keith Ellison, John Avlon, Margaret Hoover and Dean Obeidallah discuss the president's scandal trifecta, hope for immigration and what Jolie's revelation means for women.
updated 1:09 PM EDT, Fri May 17, 2013
The press has turned on President Obama with a vengeance, writes Howard Kurtz
updated 2:01 PM EDT, Sat May 18, 2013
Donna Brazile says our democracy is endangered, not by the Russians, North Korea, Iran or even terrorists. To quote Pogo: "We have met the enemy and he is us."
updated 1:59 PM EDT, Sat May 18, 2013
Photographer Arne Svenson defends his show "Neighbors," portraits of the occupants of a building near him taken through their windows.
updated 4:57 PM EDT, Fri May 17, 2013
Theater critic Kevin Williamson was kicked out of a play when he took the phone away from an audience member and threw it. He says it was worth it.
updated 10:25 AM EDT, Sat May 18, 2013
U.S. actor Angelina Jolie (L) holds daughter Zahara as husband and actor Brad Pitt (C) carries son Maddox during a stroll on the seafront promenade at the historic Gateway of India outside their hotel in Mumbai on November 12, 2006.
Gil Welch says women must not panic over Angelina Jolie's mastectomies: 99% of women don't carry the BRCA1 gene.
updated 4:52 AM EDT, Sat May 18, 2013
JR's "Inside Out" project brings public spaces alive with giant representations of people
updated 3:22 PM EDT, Fri May 17, 2013
Roger Colinvaux says the IRS scandal is fundamentally about disclosure of donors, not tax-exempt status.
updated 7:49 AM EDT, Fri May 17, 2013
Alex Castellanos says Chris Matthews is wrong; the Washington controversies result from a government that is too big to control
updated 11:56 AM EDT, Fri May 17, 2013
Mike Downey says Los Angeles has well-funded but clueless sports teams.
updated 11:52 AM EDT, Fri May 17, 2013
Grace Liu says It's time for some tiger cubs to approvingly roar for our strict and demanding parents
updated 7:57 AM EDT, Fri May 17, 2013
Sens. Al Franken and Roger Wicker say we need a strong SEC to make sure credit ratings fraud doesn't bring down the economy again.
updated 10:25 AM EDT, Thu May 16, 2013
LZ Granderson says instead of reducing the blood alcohol content threshold, how about enforcing existing laws better?
updated 11:14 AM EDT, Thu May 16, 2013
Maia Goodell says the military should use civil legal remedies on sexual assault cases.
updated 12:16 PM EDT, Thu May 16, 2013
Rand Paul says firing the acting head of the agency isn't enough of a remedy to the abuses that endangered individual rights
updated 1:37 PM EDT, Thu May 16, 2013
Simon Tisdall says a gruesome video might further damage the already challenged reputation and credibility of the Syrian opposition.
updated 4:26 PM EDT, Wed May 15, 2013
Michael Harley says to give Tesla Model S the "best" trophy is presumptuous - it is pioneering but not flawless
ADVERTISEMENT