Why young Americans should vote

With the next presidential election coming up, Americans are stuck with the thought, “What am I going to do?” That is understandable among US citizens today. Rather than having to just go out and pick between two “horrible candidates”, some are just deciding to not vote at all.

The problem with not voting at all is that our government is set up so that people are able to vote for representatives, and have their ideas and beliefs acknowledged. When people decide not to vote, they are allowing other people to make decisions for them.

The amount of registered voters is dropping compared to past years. According to the article, 2012 Voter Turnout Report, “Voter turnout dipped from 62.3 percent of eligible citizens voting in 2008 to an estimated 57.5 in 2012.”

Young adults tend to feel some discouragement from more experienced adults when it comes to voting, but how else are people going to have their voices heard?

“I think it’s hard to decide because Trump doesn’t really seem fair and he is very rude, but I feel like he could help us get out of debt and make decisions that might actually work,” said Sarah Delaney, 18,  “Hillary has lots of plans and acts professional, but her plans don’t seem good for America, so it’s difficult to decide who to vote for.”

“I have already registered so I am going to be able to go vote on Election Day,” says Delaney. “I think it’s very important to vote.”

There is also a respect factor that comes into the voting discussion. Millions of soldiers have risked their lives and died for America’s right to vote. When young adults decide not to vote, they are not taking advantage of the opportunities the Founding Fathers of the United States fought for in the Revolutionary War, and that soldiers have fought for since then.

People in our history have fought so hard for the right to vote, and Americans today need to respect their sacrifices.  “Women suffragettes were jailed and force fed for three weeks for the right to vote,” said  the article “50 Reasons Why You Should Vote.” African Americans and women have done so much to be able to get the right to vote, and more people need to recognize that.

“I watch the the debates and stuff, but I’m not really sure who I agree with yet,” said Joe Bravo, 18, a senior at Milford High School. “I’m just not really sure how the whole process works.”

Young adults tend to think that even if they do vote, their vote wouldn’t matter anyways. After all, there are millions of other people who are voting for their own beliefs as well.

According to a Huffington Post article, 7 Reasons Why You Should Vote In This Year’s Elections, the U.S. had the ninth lowest voting rate compared to 35 other countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Even social media is encouraging people to vote. Apps like Twitter and Facebook now have advertisements asking people if they have registered yet. This is meant to target young people who are using social media, and all other people who might have not decided to register to vote yet.

There are some people in America who really do not have opinions on who the next president is, or politics in general. Even if people don’t want to participate national or state elections, it is important for people to participate in the voting process, even small scale local elections.

Young adults need to be educated on elections and voting, so they feel more confident about participating when the next election rolls around. The website Ballotpedia is one resource for people to use to get more information about school boards, municipal government, elections, public policy, and federal courts.

The main idea is that people, especially young adults, need to be encouraged to go out and participate in the democracy that shapes our country.