Sometimes it's hard to keep the faith. When homework is piling up, exam dates are drawing near and you realize that you haven't been grocery shopping in over 2 weeks - it can be difficult to make time for things that don't immediately impact our daily lives. This time of year can be very stressful for college students across the nation, and the last thing any of us needed was the twice-a-day-reminder from an old friend from high school to go vote on election day.
Despite the overwhelming, albeit persistent, messages and social media posts - the number of young people (18 to 29 years old) who voted early in this year's midterm election was up by 188 percent compared to 2014. This figure doesn't even account for all of the young adults who turned up on election day to cast their ballot. The push to vote during the midterms was nothing like we'd ever seen before, most of it driven by young people passionate about inciting change.
However, the results of Florida's midterm election didn't necessarily bode over well with the bright-eyed, youthful movers and shakers of tomorrow. While prominent college towns such as Gainesville, Jacksonville, and Tallahassee were blue, most of the state voted Republican and ushered in the election of Rick Scott for Senate and Ron DeSantis for Governor. The state has since begun an automatic recount of both races since the margin of defeat was within 0.5% of votes.
The winning and losing sides of this election will always tell the same tale. Republican or Democrat, the PR patterns to reject criticism and absorb support remain the same. Start new hashtags, file new lawsuits, deflect deflect deflect. This isn't even the first time Florida has had to hold a major recount (see: the year 2000's presidential election). Nothing we are seeing from the responses of either party is new.
What is new is the culture surrounding voting. It's no longer cool to not care. With the ubiquitous use of the internet and cell phones, there is no excuse to be uninformed. The turnout and results of this year's midterms are evidence of just that. A democratic politician gave an incumbent Republican a run for his money in deep-red Texas. Georgia saw its first-ever black female gubernatorial candidate. And in my home state of Florida, I have never felt prouder to be from Palm Beach County.
With margins this small and stakes this high, how can anyone say their vote doesn't matter? The difference in Florida's senate race came down to 12,562 votes. That is less than a fourth of the number of students who attend the University of Florida, and it is certainly insignificant when compared to the nearly 21 million Florida residents. If everyone's mindset is that their single vote makes no difference, we would never get anything done.
The point that I am trying to make isn't one about political parties or candidates. It's that we all have a part to play in our democracy. We need to take pride and care in voting - because it is a right that took centuries to earn. This means researching the candidates and amendments and then voting based off of your own moral code, not that of others. It means understanding the issues being talked about and being open enough to hear more than one opinion. Even though these candidates or amendments or topics may not impact your own life, it may impact your friends, family or community. Each and every vote is valid - and the only ones that don't count are the ones that were never cast at all.
