Only 19.9 percent of Americans 18 to 29 years old cast ballots in November 2014, according to U.S. Census data. The reality is, that percentage is remarkedly low. Incredibly low. I'm talking lower than Lil Wayne's jeans at a concert.
Recommended for you
All jokes aside, this lack of voter turnout is a problem. When voter turnout is low, the government isn't truly being run according to the voice and will of the people. Here's an example. In a substantial amount of districts, low voter turner out dramatically increases the probability of an incumbent being elected. Now I'm not saying that all incumbents repeatedly winning reelection to their office is a problem, but one of the beauties of them fighting for reelection is that they must be held accountable for their actions. With no new voters to challenge them and the current pool of voters not big enough to flip a district, incumbents aren't fully being held as accountable by the electorate as they should be. That wouldn't be a problem except for the fact that elected officials exist to represent and serve the people of their district. How can they possibly do that job admirably and fulfill the needs of their district without hearing specific voices in the community?
If those paragraphs didn't grind your gears, then think about this. Any issue you care about, whether it be climate change, saving unborn children, breaking up the big banks, free college, getting the government to build a Death Star (how cool would that be?!), is being hindered by you not voting. Here's the breakdown. The youth vote (if every member of that demographic came out to vote) amounts to about 20 to 21 percent of the national eligible voting population. That is an enormous amount. That's the kind of the demographic where any congressman/woman who wants to keep their job will appeal to all their primary needs. That demographic could change the whole country.
And the best part? The reign of this demographic and the enhanced voice of the future of America would keep going and rise in strength. Numerous studies show that voting is actually habit forming and voting just once can actually make a person much more likely to vote in the future. I always hear people, not just my age, but all ages, complaining about how the government is failing them, how the people in elected office today don't truly want what's best for them, and that the world is a bad and scary place.
I have news for all those people: We can change it. It may not seem like it, but we all have a voice. No matter what is important to you, no matter what you look like, no matter whom you want to bone, whoever you are, you have a voice. It deserves to be heard. Go out and vote.
Here is a link to request voter registration forms here in the state of Texas.
