It is important to vote in this upcoming election — and in every election to come — because your opinion matters, and your vote can dictate the direction of our country’s future. Despite making up the majority of eligible voters, college students consistently fail to utilize their most powerful ability. Voting takes your opinion and uses it to explicitly shape the policies our community is built upon. You, as students, have a voice that matters, regardless of your age or previous experience. Your voice matters just as much as everyone else. One can argue that our voices matter even more, since we are the ones that will inherit the reality we elect.
Some voters also may feel like neither candidate represents their interests, another reason many vote for a third party or completely abstain. However, the two-party system hinders the chance of a third-party winner, often taking away votes from the most politically aligned candidate. If you abstain from voting altogether, even if the candidates do not align with your interests, their policies will still affect your life. It is better to choose the candidate you most agree with than to have no say in your future. In elections like this one, where such hot-button issues are on the ballot, choosing not to vote as a statement is turning a blind eye to the issues people face both in the United States and in places affected by US foreign policy. This is not the time to make a statement, this is time to invest in the future.
Many people believe that their votes seldom have impact, that their independent action has minuscule, if not irrelevant, significance. Yet, the power of countless individuals have caused elections to have been decided by just a couple of votes. According to American Progress, 42,918 votes from battleground states decided the 2020 election, and 77,744 votes decided the 2016 election in battleground states.
Students at Drexel have a unique privilege: living in the country’s most important swing state. While the issues on the table are far-reaching, you have a chance to cast the deciding vote in this presidential race. How many other states can say the same? Other students in Texas or Rhode Island, deeply red and deeply blue states will not have the same privilege. Throwing away a massive opportunity to express your beliefs at the polls would be unfair to yourself and your country. Drexel students in USGA campaigned to have the entire Election Day off. They fought to give you every opportunity to express your views to the rest of this country. Do not take that privilege lightly.
Time and time again, people have pleaded to our civilians that this is the most consequential election in history that requires your vote, and this cannot be stressed enough: stakes on Supreme court appointments, voting rights, LGBTQ rights, abortion and the economy lie inside this year’s ballot, and all of these issues are tackled very differently by each of the presidential candidates. Never before has the difference been as stark as it is today between the two parties. Regardless of what side you are on, making your choice on these issues known is not just your civic duty, but your chance to choose this country’s direction for the next four years and beyond.
If you are unsure how to vote- or how to register: check out our voter guide.
Voting is a right, and a privilege. There are many issues that need to be addressed and voting is how you can give your opinion. Voting is an integral part of what the founding fathers inscribed for us. Every American has the right to vote, use it.