Every four years, the presidential election comes around with what seems like an inescapable sea of campaigns. However, this year, it is more important for college-aged students to vote than ever before.
With protests popping up on campuses nationwide, chalkings filled with hateful rhetoric, and students on both sides being ostracized for their political beliefs, it seems like politics is everything.
Despite this phenomenon, the simple fact is people our age simply don’t vote like older Americans do.
In 2020, researchers at Tufts University found that 66% of college students voted in the presidential election. While this number is exponentially larger than it has been previously, it is still not enough.
This phenomenon is well-documented in political science literature. Some experts cite barriers to voting as a cause, like difficulty applying for absentee ballots.
UA students come from outside the state of Alabama. This means that students must either travel home to vote or vote absentee, which presents its own set of unique challenges. Regardless of the obstacles, you should still vote in order to have your say in debates about pertinent problems in this country.
At this moment, the state of our great nation is in peril. We can’t keep making excuses for our voting disengagement when we are the ones who will decide the fate of the generation that succeeds us. It is our civic responsibility to reinvigorate our democracy before it inevitably destroys us.
Health care, the economy, foreign policy and crime are some of the most pressing issues this election, according to polling from Pew Research Center. In a time where housing prices have approached record highs and one in four adults put off receiving needed health care due to the high cost, Americans, even young ones, need solutions. At a time of fierce debate about how to improve our immigration system and about where U.S. foreign aid should — or should not — be spent, Americans require resolution.
This presidential election is unique, not just for the combination of the immensely pressing issues at stake, the two assassination attempts against a leading presidential candidate or the incumbent president withdrawing from the race, but for the extremely tight margins it will likely come down to. Now more than ever, your vote matters, especially if you live in a swing state like Pennsylvania or Georgia.
Even if you choose not to vote for the leading Democrat or Republican, a vote for a third party will similarly send the message that your needs as a voter have to be respected.
Of course, the general election involves many races besides just the presidential one. Downballot races for positions like those in Congress are similarly pressing, as the majorities held in each house are small and susceptible to change.
Nobody wants to wake up the morning after election day to find that their preferred candidates have lost and feel that because they didn’t vote, they didn’t do anything about it.
So do something about it. Find out if you are still eligible to register to vote, and research the process for doing so by going to the secretary of state’s website for your home state. Make a voting plan, whether you decide to vote early, absentee, by mail or in-person on election day. But most importantly, vote.
The Crimson White Editorial Board consists of Editor-in-Chief Maven Navarro; Managing Editor Jacob Ritondo; Engagement Editor Emma Brandenburg; Opinions Editor Abby Cope; and Chief Copy Editor Luke McClinton.
