As mid-term elections approach, college students across the country are requesting absentee ballots, researching candidates, and staying up-to-date on current issues. You should be doing this too.
Historically, young people vote less than older generations. Less than 50% of registered voters under thirty voted during the 2016 presidential election. During the 2014 midterms, less than 20% of young voters took advantage of the right to vote. But this year, we have a chance to reverse this pattern.
So far, Trump has had one of, if not the most polarizing presidential administrations in our country’s history and nobody has been unaffected by this. Young people are taking this current political climate as a chance to learn more about the political system, involve themselves in issues they care about, and take a stand. They are organizing marches, speaking out on social media, and even running for office. No matter what your political beliefs, it has been amazing to see our generation learn to advocate and become so involved in our government.
When young people don’t vote, they effectively take themselves out of the national conversation. They make it easy for politicians to ignore their values, the issues that are affecting them, and to not take them seriously. While midterm elections may not seem as important as a presidential election at first glance, they actually carry a lot of weight. Our government’s system of checks and balances means that Congress has a lot of influence on what the President can or cannot do. Additionally, the people you elect this year will either vote yes or no on legislation on topics that affect your daily lives, like healthcare, reproductive rights, or gun control.
The logistics of voting may seem complicated if you go to school outside of the state or district that you’re registered in. Services like TurboVote can be great in this situation to help you request an absentee ballot or even register to vote in the first place. HWS Votes is also a great student organization that you can contact if you have any questions. In the past, they’ve partnered with TurboVote and, in 2014, so many students registered to vote through these efforts that HWS was named “Top Campus of All Time.” If you’re interested in getting involved in politics on-campus beyond voting, think about getting involved in on-campus political organizations, taking a political science class, or keeping an eye out for upcoming interesting political events (PSA: Angela Davis, political activist and author, will be speaking at the 20th Anniversary of the Fisher Center on October 18!)
Whether you’re registered as a Democrat, Republican, Independent, or something else, being politically active is extremely important. Voting is the most basic way to get involved and there’s no excuse not to. Exercise your right by registering to vote or requesting an absentee ballot today.