Midterm elections are right around the corner—on Tuesday, November 6 to be exact. As someone who is very politically active, I am very excited about having the opportunity to exercise my civic duty and check off some pretty cool names on the voting ballot. However, since I have arrived at college, I have encountered many people who do not have the same interest in or knowledge about politics and social issues. I was born and raised in New York City, where probably half of my conversations a day consisted of political discourse and discussion. However, when you leave the bubble of your home, you are inevitably going to meet people who have different values and education than you. I was shocked to meet people who weren’t thinking of voting or didn’t even know what the midterm elections were! Although I personally have made sure that all of my friends are educated about their voting rights, I know that there are some people out there who are just not able to convince their friends to vote! So, I have come up with a couple of creative ways of getting your friends to vote in the upcoming election!
1. Bribe them
The best way to get someone to do something is to bribe them, of course! Offer to buy your friend a beignet from Cafe Du Monde, to pay for their next coffee at PJ’s, or to just Venmo them a couple of bucks. Anything works!
2. Trick them into going to their polling place
This one is a little more complicated, so bear with me. First, look up their designated polling location by going to THIS LINK. Then, offer to take your friend out to lunch or to coffee on November 6. Make your offer enticing so that they can’t resist. Then instead of going to the agreed on location, Uber or drive to the polling place. Viola! Now there’s no excuse for your friend to not vote. Also, you can always get food or coffee after you guys vote, right?
3. Offer to pay for their transportation
This one is pretty self-explanatory. It shouldn’t be more than a couple of bucks to get your friends down to their polling place, so offer to pay for their Uber, Lyft, streetcar, gas, or whatever their favorite choice of transport is. Uber and Lyft are even offering discounts on rides to the polls in order to encourage people to vote! Also, if you’re worried about spending money, just think about all the money you’ll be saving later in life if you get your friends to vote for people and laws that will fight for you and your bank account!
4. Hold something of theirs hostage
Threaten to take something away that they can’t live without until they present you with that “I voted” sticker. Could be a favorite eyeliner, top, or god forbid, their phone! Whatever it is, make sure it is effective.
So, I hope these tips work for you in getting your friends to vote in this super important election. But, to be honest, if you need to try this hard to coerce your friends to vote, do you guys really share the same values? I would reevaluate that friendship because the best friends are people who truly care. And if you care, you will vote on November 6.