Why I’m not voting today

Editors note: We here at CharlotteFive think you should vote today. We’ve provided resources to help you be knowledgeable when you go to the polls, including the last-minute voters guide we published yesterday, and we hope you’ll use them. But we also know that some people have no desire to vote tomorrow, and we wanted to understand why.

Donya A., 23, agreed to share her reasons for not voting today. Donya (she didn’t want us to use her full name) is a Muslim American woman born in the U.S. and living in Charlotte. We emailed her a set of questions and her answers are below, minimally edited for clarity.

I don’t plan on voting in this year’s election for a few reasons. The biggest reason would have to be that I personally don’t feel like I know enough about politics to have an opinion. What I mean by that is, while there is a lot of coverage on the election, I feel like it is hard for people like me (“politically challenged”) to understand a lot of what is being said. On top of that, once the primaries are over, it seems that all we are focusing on are the scandals in each of the candidate’s worlds.

Another reason why I don’t plan on voting this election year is because I cannot justify voting for either of the candidates as a Palestinian American. My great-uncle, Farouk Shami, is the CEO of CHI and has been friends with Donald Trump for over 12 years now as they have been involved in the Miss USA/Universe pageants together. However, seeing the way that Donald Trump has talked about Muslims, as well as Hillary Clinton, it definitely makes it difficult justifying voting for either of them. I really don’t have any specific reason why I wouldn’t vote for her except for me just not trusting her, mostly because of the emails. I just can’t see her in office, even though I do feel that she has the experience.

I voted in 2012 (for Obama). Honestly, it mostly had to do with the thrill of finally being able to vote. I was 19 years old at the time and truthfully didn’t know more than I do now about politics.

What made me not want to vote in this election is I can’t vote for a candidate who I do not believe in or believe could do the job. People keep telling me to vote for a third party, but how can I vote for them if I don’t even know who the candidate is?

It isn’t that I don’t want to learn necessarily, it mostly has to do with the fact that most people I come across who are passionate about politics typically are one-sided. Same with most news stations. It is hard to find truly non-biased and objective sources.

Aside from reading the Skimm every morning, I would not say that I keep up with the news. I’ll watch CNN, but once the election coverage starts, it really is a deterrent for me. My parents are good sources for learning about the local government, because my mom is one of the main supervisors for the Social Security office in Charleston. So I do have a good source on a local level, but I really do not have a good source for a national level.

I have come across a lot of people who are not planning to vote this election, which does not come as a surprise. I have felt pressure from people who are very passionate about voting, but I do believe I have a right to choose not to exercise my vote as well.

It’s true what they say about avoiding politics and religion on a first date or at work. I respect anyone who wants to vote or not vote, so I would not want to be judged on my decision.

Photo: Davie Hinshaw/Charlotte Observer

This story was originally published November 8, 2016 at 12:02 AM with the headline "Why I’m not voting today."