Voting is Important, and Here is Why
Having the ability to vote allows voters to choose and voice their opinions and stances on issues. Voting allows you to choose political leaders that they believe in to make good choices for the country. Sadly, thousands of eligible voters do not vote.
Our generation —millennials– account for one-third of the voting population. But less than 50 percent actually cast a vote between the ages of 18 to 29. Only 19 percent of votes cast in the last election came from young voters. Most see voting as a waste of time and feel as if their voices aren't heard. Which is the complete opposite of what voting really is, voting doesn’t take 20 minutes or you can request an absentee ballot and vote from within your house! When a couple of thousand people say “Why vote? My opinion doesn't matter anyway.” Those couple of million people could have the same views as you and make a huge difference but when you don’t go to the polls your voice, of course, isn’t heard.
Millennials voices do matter! Four percent of young women voted more than the young men. Millennial voters are more likely to support equality issues like same-sex marriage, immigration, and legalizing abortion. A total of 40 percent of millennials identify as non-white, which makes them the most diverse voters in history. Eventually millennials will be the majority voters and hopefully, the government will represent us in a positive light. That’s why we need to make voting a “social norm” we were given the right to vote so we should use it to our advantage since many people don’t get this freedom.
In many communities, less than 50 percent of the voting population vote. That is considering that jobs usually allow you the time to vote and absentee ballots are any easy click away to receive. They have made the process of registering, voting and requesting an absentee ballot easy as pie but people still don’t do it. According to The Borgen Project, “Every vote matters. There have been several cases in U.S. history where this has been seen. A New Hampshire Senate race was decided by two votes out of 223,363 in 1974. A Massachusetts gubernatorial election was decided by two votes out of 102,066 in 1839. And the Alaskan congressional race was decided by a single vote out of 10,035 cast in 2008.” Your voice can and could make a difference in how local and state government pans out.
Check and see if you are registered to vote! You have to be registered 10-30 days earlier in some states before the actual election. If you aren't sure you are registered or would like to register to go to this link and they can help you with virtually anything in voting.
Happy Voting and Go Vote on November 6th!
