If you’re anything like me, you’re already sick of the 2016 election. It’s all we’ve heard about since mid-2015. “Donald Trump did this” and “Hillary Clinton said that” has been covering every major news channel for months on end…and we don’t vote until November. It’s easy to get fed up with the political system, to throw up your hands and scream that it doesn’t even matter. But it does.
In the 2012 election, only 24% of people age 18-29 casted a vote in the presidential election. It was the lowest turnout among any age group. So why aren’t we voting? Is it because we don’t think our voice matters? Is it because we’re busy on election day? Is it because we’re at college in another state and don’t want to take the time to fill out a long-distance voter form?
I’m not here to tell you who to vote for. I’m not here to tell you that you’re a bad American citizen if you don’t go out in November and cast your vote for the next president. But I am here to tell you that the future of America is in our hands. Who we elect to be our next president will impact the world we face when we graduate and are looking for a job. It will define the world that we get married in, and the world that our kids are brought into. It will determine what condition the world is in environmentally, how immigrants are treated, who has access to healthcare, and how our nation is protected.
If you attend college in a state where you aren’t a resident, get started on the paperwork! It’s super simple and can be found here. Print out some extra copies and hand them out to your friends. Research the candidates. See who your views allign with. Think about how their policy ideas will impact the future of America.
We are the youngest voice in this election. We are the ones who are going to have to face the repurcussions if things go horribly wrong. We are responsible for the future of the country we live in. This shouldn’t be taken lightly. We have an incredible responsibility on our hands – and how lucky we are to have the chance to make our voice heard!
So next time you turn on the news and you see that another candidate has said something you dissaprove of, or that another candidate has taken the lead in the polls, try to give it a little bit of your attention. Watch that segment, read the article on your homepage, follow the link embedded in the tweet on your timeline. The decision is in your hands.