5 Reasons Why You Should Register To Vote

By Samantha Alsina on October 20, 2016

College age voter turnout is rarely the highest group to come out. Amidst mid-terms, writing papers, and grueling hours of studying, it may be hard to find the time but college aged voters still need to go out and register to vote. The deadline for California voter registration, October 24th, is approaching fast and it’s crucial that you make sure to register in person, by mail, or online. If you’re on the fence about voting this November, here are 5 reasons why you should:

 
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  1. Student Loans: Despite the overwhelming sentiment that both candidates are not likable or capable to be president, cynicism can not be made the alternative pathos to voting. In the democratic primaries, the issue of student loans was discussed and Clinton herself did speak to the notion of re-financing as a possible solution to combat loan debt. If college students don’t go out to vote, then students won’t have a say in which president gets to make those calls. Those issues affect our futures, regardless of who becomes president.

  2. Local Elections: If you’re one of those students who doesn’t believe in the two party system, then that’s fine. But when you’re voting on November 8th, you’re not just choosing who becomes President. You also have a bigger impact on your community’s measures and state’s propositions. In the state of California, there’s about thirteen propositions ranging on issues: to funding education, to ammunition sales, to marijuana legalization and reforming death penalty procedures. These can easily be overlooked when watching the presidential debates but all of these are important and to some extent, they either affect you, your community or someone you know.

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  3. Voting is a RIGHT: Most people forget that it wasn’t long ago when college students weren’t able to vote. The 26th amendment, ratified in March 1971, lowered the voting age from 21 to the age of 18. This was in large part due to the student activists who fought adamantly against the Vietnam War during the 1960s. It is because of the students of the past that we have this privilege to vote in our local and federal elections. We have a moral obligation to exercise this right and we should honor the work done by our past peers to form the future for next generation’s college students.

  4. We don’t have to agree on everything: There’s a large sentiment amidst college students that you can’t vote for a certain candidate because of X,Y, and Z. But a working democracy is going to have its disagreements. This is the reality when you’re dealing with 50 states and a large diverse population. When you’re voting for a candidate, you’re voting for the issues that you care about but obviously, a democracy isn’t about getting everything we want. Yes, the candidate may agreed with you on X but disagree with you on Y but finding middle ground is the basis for getting anything done especially on controversial or polarized issues. Ultimately, we always have to be our own advocates and self agents.

  5. Make Politicians Listen: Unfortunately, many politicians won’t go out of their way to listen to college students and their needs. But by being the citizens who go out to vote on November 4th, we gain a privilege in voicing our needs to the representatives we have elected. Politicians respond when a large body of citizens come together and make their voices heard. Although we wish politicians had a more proactive relationship to our communities, this is simply not today’s reality. We must make them listen and voting is merely one facet into doing this. This is not the only facet but it’s one of the more accessible ways into getting politicians to notice us!

Whether you’re planning on voting Republican, Democrat, or Independent, your vote counts. It’s not merely about choosing our president when the time comes, it’s about exercising the power we have been given as citizens of the United States.

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