Whether a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior, nearly every student will have the opportunity to vote at least once in their lives. The question on many young people’s minds is, is voting worth it? The answer varies.
Voting has been around since the early 1700s, dating back even further than that, and have since evolved. When the concept was first introduced the U.S.A, only white, property-owning men were the only people that could influence the government through their votes. Since then, the idea has advanced and now every person, regardless of race, gender, color, or religion can vote if they are at least eighteen years old.
There are many pros to voting, for example, voting gives the younger generation a voice in society. It allows them stand up and influence decisions that could potentially impact their future. The younger generation accounts for nearly half of the population, according to www.borgenproject.org, which makes for an important political force.
“Do your homework. Local newspapers have Q & A’s with candidates. Vote informed. Don’t just go off a name or political party.” English instructor Mr. Marine said.
There are cons to this argument, as there is for most. Many people in today’s generation don’t even know how to go about voting. During the 2016 presidential election, only 19 percent of people who voted were between the ages of 18-29 years old, which means the remaining 81 percent of voters were 49-64 years old.
“Vote if you want but it’s your choice.” senior Ethan Gardner said.
Many people in the younger generation aren’t aware of the voting process or how it works. As mentioned in the paragraph above, a small amount of these young potential voters actually went out to vote.
“[I would like to know] a list of places you could go to vote.” senior Taylor Bolarr said.
In addition to the cons list, many people refuse to vote because they don’t believe it does anything to really influence the government. In the grand scheme of things, it does matter. Each vote counts, though it may seem false. Every individual vote contributes to the popular vote and your state’s electoral vote, which could make all of the difference in an election.
Should everyone take advantage of their right to vote or should they not? There is no one answer. There are good and bad things about both sides to the argument.
