50 Election Day Quotes To Help You Exercise Your Civic Duty

By Norbert Juma

Master quote curator and editor on a mission to inspire

Published November 9, 2022

Everyone has something to say in these Election Day quotes, including famous people like Kylie Jenner, philosophers like Plato, and past presidents like Barack Obama.

They will remind you why casting your ballot and making your voice heard is important.

In the United States, Election Day is the annual day set by law for the general elections of federal public officials.

Since 1845, the Federal Government has set Election Day as “the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November.”

In 2024, Election Day falls on Tuesday, November 5.

Why Is Election Day a Tuesday in November?

Before 1845, election days varied by state.

However, this system was flawed because knowing the early voting results could affect turnout and sway opinion in states that held late elections.

So, to streamline the voting process and to avoid influencing voters with early election results, Congress set a single election day for the entire country.

But why a Tuesday in November?

In 19th-century America, most citizens were devout Christians who worked as farmers and lived far from their polling stations.

Lawmakers needed to allow a two-day window for Election Day because people often traveled for at least a day to vote.

For farmers, early November was convenient because the harvest was over, but the weather was still relatively mild.

Since Sunday was set aside as a day of rest and worship, Election Day couldn’t be held on a weekend.

Wednesday was market day for farmers.

This meant voters couldn’t use Sunday or Wednesday as their travel day, ruling out Monday or Thursday as Election Day.

As a result, they considered Tuesday the best option.

Why Is Election Day Important?

Election day allows Americans to exercise one of their most important civic duties and vote.

Here are a few reasons voting is important.

Elections have consequences. Every vote matters.
It’s your right. Not voting is giving up your voice.
It’s your chance to choose how your tax dollars are spent.
Voting is an opportunity for change.
Your vote determines the future direction of the U.S. and the world

To inspire you to go to the polls, here’s our collection of election day quotes and sayings collected from various sources over the years.

Election Day quotes to inspire and enlighten you

1. “Every election is determined by the people who show up.” ― Larry J. Sabato

2. “A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

3. “That we have the vote means nothing. That we use it in the right way means everything.” ― Lou Henry Hoover

4. “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.” ― Abraham Lincoln

5. “Our political leaders will know our priorities only if we tell them, again and again, and if those priorities begin to show up in the polls.” ― Peggy Noonan

6. “Despite what the pundits want us to think, contested primaries aren’t civil war, they are democracy at work, and that’s beautiful.” ― Sarah Palin

7. “Elections are the bedrock of democracy; however, it is a costly endeavour.” ― Santosh Kalwar

8. “Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.” ― Abraham Lincoln

9. “Elections determine who is in power, but they do not determine how power is used.” ― Paul Collier

10. “We don’t vote for people because they are the exact embodiment of our values, but because they are likely to be the most responsive to them.” ― Charles M. Blow

You will also enjoy our article on November quotes.

Election day quotes about voting

11. “There’s no such thing as a vote that doesn’t matter.” ― Barack Obama

12. “Bad officials are elected by good citizens who don’t vote.” ― George Jean Nathan

13. “Our votes are our power, they are not for sale.” ― Onyinye Ough

14. “A man without a vote is a man without protection.” ― Lyndon B. Johnson

15. “Talk is cheap, voting is free; take it to the polls…” ― Nanette L. Avery

16. “Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country, and this world.” ― Sharon Salzberg

17. “Do the unexpected. Take 20 minutes out of your day, do what young people all over the world are dying to do: vote.” ― Rick Mercer

18. “By voting, we add our voice to the chorus that forms opinions and the basis for actions.” ― Jens Stoltenberg

19. “We can all agree on the importance of voting.” ― Jenna Bush

20. “Voting is the only way to ensure that your concerns matter. Period.” ― Michelle Obama

You will also enjoy our article on December quotes.

Election day quotes about democracy

21. “A democratic mind is not attached to any single idea and open to all ideas.” ― Amit Kalantri

22. “Democracy is about voting and it’s about a majority vote. And it’s time that we started exercising the Democratic process.” ― Debbie Stabenow

23. “Democracy is based upon the conviction there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people.” – Harry Emerson Fosdick

24. “The vote is precious. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democratic society, and we must use it.” — John Lewis

25. “The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.” ― John F. Kennedy

26. “Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be.” ― Sydney J. Harris

27. “Because of democracy, humanity still have faith in human beings.” ― Amit Kalantri

28. “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.” ― Franklin D. Roosevelt

29. “The future of this republic is in the hands of the American voter.” ― Dwight D. Eisenhower

30. “We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.” ― Thomas Jefferson

You will also enjoy our article on quotes about voting.

Election day quotes to help you vote wisely

31. “Participating in elections means demanding for services that we deserve from the people we can trust.” ― Njau Kihia

32. “Someone struggled for your right to vote. Use it.” — Susan B. Anthony

33. “Elections are called! May the better voters win!” ― Ljupka Cvetanova

34. “Casting a ballot isn’t just something you do for yourself—it’s for our collective future.” — Oprah Winfrey

35. “We can’t have officials with conscience if we can’t be voters with conscience.” ― Jorge P. Guerrero

36. “Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that you vote is never lost.” ― John Quincy Adams

37. “One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.” ― Plato

38. “I believe that voting is the first act of building a community, as well as building a country.” — John Ensign

39. “Don’t boo—vote.” ― Barack Obama

40. “People shouldn’t be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.” ― Alan Moore

More inspirational quotes for election day

41. “Awake, Arise and Vote.” ― Abhijit Naskar

42. “We have the power to make a difference. But we need to VOTE.” — Kylie Jenner

43. “I love voting day. I love the sight of my fellow citizens lining up to make their voices heard.” ― Beth Broderick

44. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” ― Martin Luther King, Jr

45. “Choose a leader who will invest in building bridges, not walls. Books, not weapons. Morality, not corruption. Intellectualism and wisdom, not ignorance.” ― Suzy Kassem

46. “Voter apathy was, and will remain the greatest threat to democracy.” ―Hazen Pingree

47. “If we don’t vote, we are ignoring history and giving away the future.” ― Pat Michell

48. “The first duty of a man is to think for himself.” ― Jose Marti

49. “It’s not enough to just want change… You have to go and make change by voting.”
— Taylor Swift

50. “Somewhere inside of all of us is the power to change the world.” ― Roald Dahl