Final answer:
Voting is a fundamental way to engage with the government and ensure that it serves the people. Individual votes do matter, as they determine the outcome of elections for various government positions. Citizen participation in voting is a crucial civic responsibility in a representative republic.
Step-by-step explanation:
Voting is a fundamental way to engage with the government. Individual votes do matter. City council members, local judges, mayors, state legislators, governors, and members of Congress are all chosen by popular vote. Although the president of the United States is not chosen directly by popular vote but by a group of presidential electors (informally called the Electoral College), the votes of individuals in their home states determine how these electors ultimately vote.
One of the most basic ways to engage with government as an individual is to vote. Individual votes do matter. City council members, mayors, state legislators, governors, and members of Congress are all chosen by popular vote. Although the president of the United States is not chosen directly by popular vote but by a group called the Electoral College, the votes of individuals in their home states determine how the Electoral College ultimately votes.
Citizen participation in a representative republic matters. The purpose of voting-and other forms of civic engagement--is to ensure that the government serves the people and not the other way around. Voting is the most important civic responsibility entrusted to the American citizen.