Why 18-24 Year Olds Should Vote

We've all been taught since grade school that we live in a representative democracy but the fact is that it is not very representative at all. The reason it is this way is because many people simply do not vote and one of the largest age groups of non-voters is my age group, that is 18-24 year old voters. What I would like to try to do today is address three questions; "Who votes?" , "Why don't we vote?" , and "Why should you vote?" We meaning my peer group of 18 - 24 year old U.S. citizens.

First of all lets talk about who votes. According to national statistics 18 - 24 year olds make up about 13% of the U.S. population which is a huge chunk. Now out of all of these people only about 33% of that age group actually votes. It is a little higher during presidential years the 2204 presidential election voting for 18-24 year olds was around 42%.

Why don't 18-24 year olds vote? Well there are a few different reasons, the first being that we see all politicians as being sleazy and untrustworthy. We often think that both party delegates are corrupt so what the point in voting at all. Another reason we don't vote is because we think that the issues don't apply to us. What the use in voting for an issue that will only effect the elderly or small children it has nothing to do with me. A third reason we don't vote is our lack of political knowledge and campaign issues. We either don't know enough about what the candidates believe and their stance on political issues or we just plain don't understand the voting system very well at all. The single biggest reason we don't vote though is that we are just simply lazy. Heck we are Americans we're used to being lazy and we just don't want to take those few minutes to register or go to the polling station to vote on election day.

Okay on to my soap box I go, let me tell you why you should vote. First of all many of the major voting issues directly effect the youth of the nation. One example of this would be the war in Iraq. It is not people from our parents or grandparents generations that are dying over there it is our own peers so we need to represent them well by using our vote to make sure the policies they are fighting for are really worth risking their lives. Another example would be social security. No this doesn't just effect our grandparents, in fact as of right now there is a possibility that we could never see a cent of that money that is being taken out of all our paychecks because it will be used up by time we are able to draw on it. If we ever want to see that money again the best way is to use our vote to change the laws and policies so that we can get that money back. Another reason we should vote is because democracy only works through participation. That is as of right now only a minority of the population is voting for small group of people who rule us all. We need to change that and make it a true majority vote that decides who is going to govern and lead us. Thirdly, you should vote because the person who gets elected represents you and your tax dollars. We work hard for our money why do you want to see that money get wasted on something that is totally pointless just because it may be in that politicians agenda.

The biggest reason you should vote is simply this, because you can! You live in a democracy that means you get a say of what goes on so even though it may seem like a chore to take a few minutes to go vote we should consider it a privilege because in some places people are literally dying just for the right to vote. In fact many people in our own countries history shed their own blood just to be able to vote. Think of why the Pilgrims initially came here, or the fight the African-Americans have had, or even the latest woman's suffrage of the 1920's. All these groups paid great prices so we could vote so we should use that privilege responsibly by taking the first step in heading down to the library or post office and registering to vote and then actually voting on the next election day.