As the presidential election draws ever closer, parties’ desire to secure votes increases each day. In the upcoming presidential election, 40.8 million members of Generation Z will be eligible to vote, and candidates hope to reel in young voters as the race for the presidency becomes narrower. According to the 2024 Harvard Youth Poll, approximately 53 percent of Americans under 30 plan to vote in this election cycle. While this is an increase from the 2020 presidential election, young people have historically had the lowest voting turnout as many youth remain apathetic to their country’s politics. Young Americans should promote voting among their peers and register or pre-register to vote with the goal of creating the change they desire for their country.
Registering to vote means filling out a form on paper at an elections office or using an online service, such as the California Secretary of State’s official website, to be sent a ballot automatically every election cycle. Pre-registration for voting is available to U.S. citizens ages 16 to 18. Pre-registering to vote means that you will be automatically registered as a voter on your 18th birthday and will receive a ballot without having to take further action in the future. According to the California Secretary of State, this process only requires your full name, address, place of birth and a form of identification. This can be your California driver’s license, California identification card number or the last four digits of your Social Security Number.
Pre-registering to vote is one of the simplest and most important ways to demonstrate your interest and involvement in your community. The ability to vote is one of the fundamental rights you hold as a U.S. citizen. Millions of people have fought for this right over many decades, and their efforts are why citizens can vote regardless of gender, race or socioeconomic status. To ignore the tribulations of the people who fought for the right to vote and decide instead to disregard the power of your ballot is doing a disservice to not only those before you but to yourself. Voting is a way to take a stance and create change as a citizen. According to the Center for Information & Research on Civil Learning and Engagement, the top issues for young voters are gun control, cost of living and climate change. These topics are important, but cannot be properly addressed if legislation and candidates supporting these causes are not supported and voted on.
Every voice must be heard, but this cannot happen if so many are unwilling to take the simple steps to sign up to vote. By registering or pre-registering, you are doing your part as a citizen and helping advocate for what you truly believe in. According to a September Bark survey, only 16 percent of students are pre-registered to vote. While the efforts of students to create change through public protests and social media posts are surely impactful, many fail to rise and take action for their causes through their simplest opportunity: their vote.
As famed reporter Sydney J. Harris once said, “Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be.” Our democracy can only function if the people who live under it use their voice. The best way to do this is through the power of the vote.
