We all remember turning 18. When you’re in high school, 18 is the proverbial oasis in the desert of adolescence. We convince ourselves that once we clear that hurdle, once the candles are blown out and the cake is eaten, that our worlds will suddenly expand into a whole new bazar of freedom and opportunity. With legal adulthood comes a promise of governmentmandated freedom. In some states you can buy cigarettes or go to a bar. You can join the army, sign a lease, sign a contract, open a bank account, and go to prison. Most of us are anxious to jump on the grownup bandwagon and leave childhood behind. Unfortunately, a privilege many of us leave untapped is our shiny new right to have our voices heard at the polls. That’s right. In case you didn’t read the title of this article, I’m talking about voting.
As a Political Science major, I’m interested in politics. I’m fascinated by government systems and how they intersect with culture, with the power of suggestion, image, voter targeting and contact,yada yada. Long story short, I’m in to this kind of stuff. But it’s hard to ignore the fact that much of my generation has adopted a sense of civic apathy. This is not to say that today’s youth show no civic engagement. The 2008 election of President Obama was due, in no small part, to his overwhelming popularity amongst voters under the age of 25. However, that mobilization was far less dramatic during his campaign for reelection in 2012 and youth numbers are dismal as the scale of elections grows smaller.
Be honest. How many of us knew that midterm elections were this year? Probably not as many as Susan B. Anthony, Jane Addams, or Sojourner Truth would have hoped for.
Yes, national elections are important. Voting for the President is important. But much of the president’s power comes from how we vote for other offices. A president’s power is derived from the way the people demonstrate their satisfaction. The best way to do this is through congressional elections. Why? Because every decision a President makes can be overridden through an act of Congress. This November, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives will be contested, along with about 1⁄3 of the 100 seats in the Senate. 38 states will be electing governors. The makeup of 46 state legislatures are also being decided this November. This doesn’t even include local elections.
The question of this article is why should we care? The answer is simple. We have to start now. The millennial generation is the largest one in history, and will eclipse that of the baby boomers in size, spending power, and diversity by the year 2018. (The year this year’s freshmen class graduates.) Issues that will face the congress selected this November are ones that will have lasting effects on our generation and the ones that follow us, such as how and who should control internet access, environmental accountability, the structure of healthcare as we know it and how we deal with income inequity.
Gone are the days where we could excuse ourselves by blaming ignorance. We live in a digital age where, at the click of the button, we can find and teach ourselves any and everything we want to know. We have the privilege of living in a society where we have been given almost unbridled access to those who govern us and some control over how they do so. An informed electorate is the cornerstone to a democracy. And now, as real life grown ups, it’s time to be a part of that.
It’s like Uncle Ben told Spiderman: “With great power comes great responsibility.” We can join the army, sign a lease, sign a contract, open a bank account, and go to prison. We can take care of ourselves. It’s time to start. So get your butt to the polls.
For nonpartisan information on voting registration, absentee voting, and the like check out canivote.org.
Peace, Love & Democracy,
Her Campus ND
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