Why You Should Vote On
By Edwin Saucedo ‘17, USG Student Body President
Wow, I can’t believe we are already on week seven of school. Over the last couple of weeks our student government has been busy advocating for student needs and looking into how we can make the student experience better. This year, we are also looking at how we can empower students to be engaged off campus. This is why I was so appalled when I learned that only 42 percent of 18-24 year olds registered to vote. The lowest figure in over forty years.
The Millennial generation has power in numbers. As of April, over 69 million Millennials are eligible to vote. We choose to give up this power when we decide not to participate in the political process. It is not enough to post a Facebook status stating your displeasure with a candidate or a policy. Likes and comments don’t make a difference—votes do.
Our generation has the power to shape policy, ignite conversations, and bring youth issues to the table for discussion. However in 2014, only 19.9% of 18-29 year olds voted, a historically low number for our age group.
November 8th is about more than picking our next president.
This election cycle, voters in California have the opportunity to take the future of our state into their own hands. This year’s ballot will give you the opportunity to pick our next Senator, vote on the legalization of marijuana, and voice your opinion on prescription drug prices, among much more. There are 17 statewide ballot propositions, affordable housing and mass transit county initiatives, in addition to our local races.
Our Council Member, Curren D. Price, Jr, won his 2013 election with 5,184 votes. The election was decided by less than 550 votes. As students, we are 36,000 strong. We have the power to decide who can represent us and what issues they need to be talking about.
This year, voter registration is a major focus area for our student government. USC Undergraduate Student Government is teaming up with the Unruh Institute of Politics to roll out registration efforts from now until October 24th, the registration deadline. Our goal is to register at least 2,000 students and give them the power to make a difference.
To make things more exciting, we have launched a competition with UCLA to see which school can register the most people to vote. Over the next 3 weeks, we will be registering students at events, in their dorms, and online. As students we need to recognize the power of our collective action. That starts with registering to vote.
Don’t tell me that you want change but then stay home on Election Day. If you don’t vote on Tuesday, you are waiving your right to complain on Wednesday.
It is time for our generation to step up and take action. Let’s not be the leaders of tomorrow, let’s register, vote, and make a difference today.
We have three weeks to enact change. Join us by registering to vote today at bit.ly/TrojansVote and help us spread the word!
