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Register to Vote
Voting is perhaps the
most important right we have as Americans. We have the right to elect
who we want to run our government, our state, our city. We also have the
right to make our voice heard on issues that are important to us.
Whether it is deciding to repair roads in our town to protecting the
rights of the mentally ill – our right to vote gives us power.
To get that power takes
just a few minutes of your time. Follow the four simple steps and soon
you will be a registered voter.
Register to
vote now!
As a part of the mental
health community, we know stigma and struggles we face on a daily basis.
Who will stand up for our rights? Who will make sure we are protected?
We can’t leave it up to everyone else. We must take action. And the
first step is registering to vote. Register today and take back the
power!
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The basis of our political
system is the right of the people to make and to alter their
constitutions of government.
- George Washington |
History of voting:
There have been
years of struggle and strife to give all Americans an equal opportunity
to vote. Honor the hard work of these advocates by exercising your
power.
- From 1788 and
1870, only white men had the right to vote.
- After the Civil
War in 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was
passed giving the right to vote to citizens regardless of their race
and color. All male citizens of the U.S. had the right to vote.
- Women would not
see equal voting rights until 1920. But due to the diligent efforts
of the Suffrage Movement the Nineteenth Amendment was passed and
women finally had the same voting rights as men.
- Today only 76% of
Americans are registered to vote and only 51% actually exercised
that right in the 2000 election.
- The 2000
Presidential election was decided by only a few hundred votes in
Florida.
When
you don’t use your right vote - then you lose your right to complain. | 
