It is no secret that college is a strange land with deadlines, responsibilities, scary landlords, and awkward social events. When you bring real world issues up to college students, they immediately stop listening, panic a little, and begin to distract themselves with articles like this one. One real world issue that scares a lot of college students is politics: the issues, the politicians, and especially the process of voting. For some reason, college students don't necessarily like to vote. Maybe it's the cost of driving home to vote, the confusion of absentee ballots, or the time it takes to research candidates. Either way, this needs to change. Here are 10 things college students care about more than voting:
1. Naps.
2. Dancing dogs.
3. McDonald's all day breakfast.
4. Free pizza.
5. "High School Musical."
6. Boxed wine.
7. Netflix.
8. Intramural sports.
9. New Snapchat filters.
10. Justin Bieber.
While most of these things are completely worthy of your dedication -- especially naps -- voting is, too. Youth voters, aged 18-29, matter, and so does their vote. That's you -- your vote matters!
The youth voter turnout has been decreasing since the start of the century. The 2014 Congressional election saw the lowest youth voter turnout of any federal election at about 20 percent. The 2012 Presidential election only saw about 45 percent of the youth voting population -- a number that is six percent smaller than the 2008 Presidential election.
Youth votes matter.
If you create the habit of voting at an early age, you remain an active voter through the rest of your years.
This will lead to a larger voting base, and a stronger loyalty to a certain party. You'll know what you want a politician to offer you, and you'll stick to those ideals as you age.
Youth voters are a target demographic for politicians.
If you show the candidates that you care what laws they pass, they will listen. There's such a thing as constituency -- so when you elect someone into office, you hold the power. They want to be reelected, and that means they want to please you.
The size of the youth demographic is substantial.
Youth voters make up 19 percent of the voting population. If one of five of the citizens who are eligible to vote choose to not exercise their right, then that one-fifth of the population will not be properly represented.
Youth voters are influential.
You know how Justin Bieber is really only relevant because young people care about him? Well, in a way, if young voters care about voting, they’ll transfer that enthusiasm onto other people, especially family and friends, which will then have a domino effect.
So why should you care? The youth voting population is vital in providing true representation of the country’s citizens, and ensures a future that will please this voting population once they are no longer apart of the “youth” demographic.
The general election registration deadline is Oct. 11. Go to www.turbovote.com today to register -- it's quick and easy, so you can get back to your "juice boxes" and free pizza in no time!
