People at my college come from all over the world, but the single biggest share come from the New York metropolitan area: New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, aka three of the truest blue states in the country. FiveThirtyEight’s trusted election forecast gives Trump a measly .3% chance of winning New York. So it’s not surprising that I’ve heard from many of my peers that they aren’t going to bother voting; why waste all that time and effort when the outcome is basically already decided?
Here are three reasons everyone who can vote should vote:
1. It’s still important for you to be represented.
Even if it won’t change who sits in the oval office, your opinion as a citizen of this country matters, and a vote is the most decisive and official way to share it. If you agree with the majority in your state, voting helps solidify that majority. If you disagree, it helps shake that majority. Even if you think that the two major party candidates are both despicable, a protest vote is called that for a reason: it’s an official expression of disapproval. However you choose to vote, it matters.
2. No state is guaranteed.
Okay, so states like New York are basically guaranteed. This isn’t a very strong argument for those states. But a huge portion of people live in states with too strong a lean to be considered swing states, but too weak a majority to be a sure thing. My home state, Missouri, for instance, has gone red for the last several elections and is considered likely to go red again-- but FiveThirtyEight puts Hillary’s odds at 1 in 5, which is far from insurmountable. For states like this, high Millennial turnout absolutely can shift the balance.
3. Down-ballot candidates.
With so much focus on the Presidential election, it’s easy to forget that it won’t be the only item on the ballots this November. What’s referred to as “down-ballot races,” the elections for lower offices, will also be taking place. These elections arguably have an even greater affect on your own life than the Presidential election does. In addition to elections for Congress-- the people who actually make federal law, the budget, and declarations of war-- there will be elections for all sorts of local officials, people who won’t make much of splash in national news, but who have a great deal of influence over the well-being of your city, county, or state.
