So far, this election has been nothing short of crazy, and it's all coming to a close this week. For most of us, this is our first election we're able to vote in, thus meaning it's also the first election we're paying attention to. And what better way to come into the world of voting than the chaos of the 2016 election? Most of the things said during this time have been shocking, horrifying, or just plain rude. Now that we're down to the wire, we need to realize how important it is that our generation votes.
I know everyone's been saying it, but seriously! Getting out there and voting is extremely important, especially since this is our first election we're able to participate in and especially because of the influence our generation has on this election. And in four years when it's time to vote again, it's going to be our generation again that's going to be getting out there and voting some more. Our generation is much more diverse than those before us, thus ensuring a larger pool of voters just in our demographic. Within the next four years, we'll be graduating from college, starting our careers, and starting our lives, so for us to vote now, we're literally setting our adult lives up. It's a scary thought, but it's absolutely true!
Even our current president, Barack Obama is telling us how important it is to vote, in every way he can. Last week, NowThis released this video explaining the importance of young voters and explained how the surge of young voters helped him win his elections-- and would help this year's candidate win theirs. Even when President Obama was at a campaign for Hillary Clinton and he faced a Trump protester in the midst of it, he gracefully told everyone, "Don't boo, vote!"
Many of us in this generation think not voting or voting for a third party is a great form of protest because of our disgruntlement with the nominees, but quite frankly, it's not. For every write in of "Mickey Mouse" and refusal to vote, is one less vote for the candidate better suited for the job. The not voting mentality is only toxic to our democracy we're trying to uphold. It's an ineffective protest because by not voting, we're only giving more power to those who are voting.
So make sure you're going out to the polls this week, because our generation is incredibly important, as we take up an alarming fraction of America's population (greater than Generation X and Y). Your voice absolutely does count, and if you're unsure of your voting location, you can simply insert your address into google and it'll tell you, so there shouldn't be any reason not to vote this election day!
