“It doesn’t affect me.”
“I can’t make a difference.”
“There was an election?”
These are just a few recurring expressions millennials use when asked why they did not vote, particularly when the proceedings do not involve a presidential election. Yet, our country is not solely run by the president. So, why is it that our generation seems unconcerned with voting on those who are elected to represent our individual communities?
History has shown that the younger generation is least likely to get out and vote.
“In the 2012 election, voters between the ages of 18-29 [the age range considered to define millennials] made up just 19 percent of the electorate — In fact, millennials continue to have the lowest voter turnout of any age group,” according to an article from NPR.
Subsequently, political conversations do not reflect the values and issues that most identify with our generation.
We are stuck in a vicious cycle where our generation doesn’t vote because our issues aren’t talked about, and our issues aren’t talked about because we don’t vote. It’s a cyclical case of what came first. This glass-half-empty mentality leads our generation to believe ourselves powerless when it comes to political reform in the voting booth, but this does not have to be the case. We have the sheer numbers alone to make a difference in our community — if we would only get more involved.
We have a powerful voice if we would learn to use it to our advantage.
We cannot just show up every four years when it’s time to vote in a new president and hope for the best. Those who represent us on a local scale impact our communities just much more. If we skip election days when it concerns our mayor, our governor or our state representatives, then we do not have the right to complain when the Baby Boomers, Generation X and the Greatest Generation show up and put people in power that align with their morals and effect change.
The political world is a rhetorical one, meaning politicians form their rhetoric around the loudest voice, the voice that affects change. In this case, the loudest voice, the one that effects the most change, is the one most prevalent in the voting booth.
Right now, the younger generation is not doing a good job of exterting its power therefore, we are not seeing as much political headway as we would like. We can start being that voice, the loudest and most effective voice — it can be as simple as a vote.
Midterm elections are just around the corner, with the municipal runoffs on Oct. 9 and the state general elections Nov. 6. Let’s start changing the power dynamic. Let’s vote, Auburn.
MaKayla Smith is a senior in communications at Auburn.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
