Photo Courtesy of Manny Becerra on Unsplash

Young Millennials and nascent Generation Z are ready to seize power. This voter group, aged 18-29, was instrumental in shaping the 2020 Democratic primaries and subsequent presidential elections. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) rose and fell on youth turnout; President Joe Biden won Arizona and Georgia on the backs of young voters and it was only by these same voters’ veto that former president Donald Trump lost a second term. Biden can thank our generation for his victory.

But perennially, the youth choose to stay home. Outside of presidential elections, and even then, they routinely refuse to make their voices heard. Why? Some say voter suppression is the reason. I have no doubt that certain states make it difficult to vote, and I have no doubt that it can be difficult for students who have a mailing address in a different state than where they go to school to vote.

But in New York, you can vote for a whole nine days before Election Day: Satuday, Oct. 29, to Sunday, Nov. 6, without excuse. You can vote at one of almost 30 locations. 

There’s a whole site, USA.gov, designed to answer each of these questions. It took me less than a minute to find out how to vote if I’m a student in, say, Texas.

If you’re a Black voter in Georgia waiting five hours to cast a vote, then I fall silent. There are structural barriers in place stopping you from voting that must be rectified immediately. But if you don’t fall into that category, what can I call this other than negligence?

I hear from young voters that voting doesn’t matter, or that we’re always voting for a bunch of dinosaurs who don’t give a damn about us. Nothing could be further from the truth. Of course voting matters. Why else do you think politicians are making it harder to vote?

Whether a person with one ideology or another is in office, it profoundly affects our lives, many times in ways we don’t even imagine. Politicians want to be elected, and if you don’t vote, you are persona non grata to them. Start voting, and they will eventually start listening to you.

So, who should we vote for? Let’s look at the top issues young people care about. A huge number of young Americans believe their rights or others’ rights are under attack. In this regard, who should we choose?

Our Democratic candidates have consistently reaffirmed the right to an abortion after the fall of Roe v. Wade. They have also committed to expanding the right to vote. Meanwhile, our Republicans running for office promise to ban abortion nationwide and continue to deny Biden’s 2020 victory.

Another top issue for young people is inflation. In this regard, who should we choose? 

While Democrats have not talked enough about inflation, at least some Democrats, such as Bernie Sanders, are actually proposing solutions. He wants to tax gas company price-gouging to fight inflation. Meanwhile, what many local Republicans are proposing is to cut taxes on the rich likely to worsen inflation.

The third biggest issue is climate change. In this regard, who should we choose? 

Only Democrats propose and vote on climate legislation. Republicans, meanwhile, still don’t even acknowledge the issue. The current slate of New York Republicans doesn’t even mention climate change as an issue.

Are Democrats perfect? No. But if you care about issues important to young voters, then the Republican Party is the antithesis of everything you care about. You can decide this election. You can choose to protect our rights, whether to stop inflation, whether to protect abortion and whether to protect our democracy. 

So, young voters! Take the opportunity: come out to vote on Tuesday, Nov. 8. And next year, vote in the primaries, so you don’t have to hold your nose when you cast your general election ballot. You have the whole world to seize for yourself – but you have to reach for it first.