A red and white notification lit up my phone screen: “Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade, Eliminates Constitutional Right to Abortion.” In less than 3 seconds, the rights to my body were taken from me and I felt like I couldn’t do anything about it. 

Following my initial shock came anger and concern. I was stuck searching for a seemingly non-existent solution, the issue pressing on my conscience. Then came a realization: to gain my rights back, I need my voice represented in governmental decisions. 

In order to advocate for women’s reproductive rights and other pressing issues apparent in today’s society, we need to vote for individuals who will work hard to vocalize our opinions. Voting determines more than which candidate wins or loses. Ultimately, voters influence policy-making and drive progress relating to specific issues.

Voter turnout is another important factor in democracy, one that ensures election integrity and accurate representation. It is especially important for younger generations to be well represented in the polls because their voices carry weight in the future. 

According to Census.gov, the greatest voter turnout in the 2020 presidential election was seen in the 65-74 year old group with 76% of them voting. On the low end of the spectrum were the 18-24 year olds with only 51.4% of them voting. These statistics are alarming because they imply that policies implemented in the future will be representative of older generations’ voices instead of their younger counterparts. When the older generations are gone, there’s a possibility that their potentially outdated views will be the basis of our future government. This is why it’s crucial that young generations vote so that as we change, so will the policies. 

Today, the privilege of voting is taken for granted by many Americans. We have the right – one that was tirelessly fought for – to voice our opinions and influence our government. That being said, why are so many people inactive in our democratic system? Research conducted by NPR suggests that many non-voters don’t participate because they don’t like the candidates, they’re apathetic, uneducated, or they don’t believe that voting is an effective way to influence society.  

These hesitations are understandable in younger populations, especially when they lack accurate information regarding our American government and the voting process in general. When eligible voters are uneducated, we can’t expect them to be knowledgeable enough to vote. If there isn’t a higher rate of voting literacy in younger generations, voter turnout will not increase.

Although politics can be uninteresting to some, it is important to make your voice heard and be well-informed on each representative in your area. When you vote you need to be aware of a few things: who you’re voting for, what they represent, and what they plan on accomplishing during their term. To become more knowledgeable in these areas you should conduct research using reliable sites such as vote.org, the League of Women’s Voters website, or usa.gov. It is important that you do not rely on social media as your source of information because it is not always accurate. In order to increase voter turnout in the younger generations, we need to better educate ourselves and better educate our youth.