It’s been a couple weeks since the midterm elections wrapped up, and voters were surely eager to voice their opinions. According to NPR (National Public Radio), this year’s midterm voter turnout was the highest since 1966, with 47 percent of voting age citizens voting in the election. In 1966, 49 percent of voters voted in the midterm.
You can’t help but infer that younger voters are getting out to make sure their voices are heard; and this is apparently true, according to statistical information regarding the elections. While there aren’t many 18-year-old Weedsport students, Weedsport Senior Doug Bunce stepped into the voting booth this year and became another contributor to these history making stats.
Students and younger people in general have been contributing more to politics in the last few years, and for good reasons.
Leading into the pivotal midterm elections, political activists were confident that turnout among college students would far outpace previous years, and their predictions were apparently correct; poll data revealed a surge among high-school and college-age voters that also seemed to contribute to Democrats taking back control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Republicans remaining in control of the Senate in the elections on Nov. 6. (CNN).
Note this: Preliminary projections put the number of young voters up by 10 percentage points since the previous midterm election in 2014, which is an incremental leap regarding past elections.
Most likely, politicians will take note of this year’s results and try more actively to appeal to young voters. As for the students who are these young voters, they are setting pace for a generation of history-making influencers that have never been seen before. Younger people getting involved in politics is a wonderful thing, if they have a genuine drive to contribute to the election and want a candidate who they believe is the best possible candidate.
Those who simply vote to vote, are also making history, but I strongly encourage those who do to actually research who you’re backing before you throw their name on a ballot, because your vote absolutely matters, and in my opinion, if you don’t think you’re informed enough, you don’t have to feel obligated to vote.
As for Weedsport student Collin Fipps, he stated that he refrained from voting this year simply because he felt he was unable to choose a candidate he would be in favor of due to him lacking the background necessary on them to make an educated vote. This is totally fine, and although I’m definitely not telling you to not vote, instead I’m saying that if you do decide to vote, make sure you’re not just in it for the “I voted” sticker and a quick post to Instagram to flex on everyone else so you can feel accomplished, I’d say stick to researching your candidates to make sure you’re picking the most fit for the job. Your vote matters, use it wisely!