The media continues to give attention to the upcoming election, highlighting both candidates. We are constantly being surrounded by news outlets, magazines and even friends and family telling us who to vote for and why.
I'm not here to tell you who to vote for because that is a personal decision (one I might add, that does not need to be discussed with anyone or on social media). I'm not here to try to influence you to tell you which candidate is better or which one is more well-suited to run the country. I'm only telling you to vote.
Exercise your right we fought so hard to attain. There are millions of young people who are so passionate about this election in particular, but they are not even registered to vote. Why? Why wouldn't you want to use your right as a citizen of this nation? Why wouldn't you want to take advantage of a chance to have a say in how the country is run?
Here are some excuses I have heard from a number of people:
"It takes too long."
"I don't know how."
"I don't know, I really don't care that much."
First of all, it requires just a simple registration form filled out online or in your home district's county clerk's office to register. You can mail in a form as well, and then all you really have to do is wait. So if you're convinced it might take up too much of your time, then you are definitely mistaken.
Second of all, it is really quite simple. The form tells you exactly what information you need, and going along with the first one, there are plenty of resources that can help you figure it out.
Finally, if your excuse is the last one, you should be ashamed of yourself. We have a right that, even today, some people do not have, yet the United States trails most developed nations in terms of voter turnout. Compared to several European countries, according to a Pew Research Center Study from 2015, the U.S. was seriously falling behind. In fact, in the 2012 election, the vote turnout in the U.S. was 53.6 percent, while the voter turnouts in countries such as Belgium, Turkey and Sweden were above 80 percent.
Everyone, especially right now wants America to "get ahead." People feel that the United States is consistently trailing many other developed nations, but people keep throwing blame at politicians and several other government officials. If you are one of these people but you do not exercise your right to vote, then yes, you really should be ashamed of yourself. If you do not like the way things are, than use your voice and try to change it.
Sure, you might be thinking, "What does one vote matter?" Because there are millions of other people who have that same thought, which is very dangerous. There is a huge portion of the population not voting simply because they believe their vote "does not matter." If everyone stopped believing this huge misconception, there would be so many more people getting out there to vote for what they believe in.
It's AmeriCAN not AmeriCAN'T. You can vote and have your voice make a difference, so make sure you register before the upcoming election.
Here is a link to the government website with information on voter registration:
