Now more than ever, the young people of our generation need to make their voices heard. They need to vote.
The upcoming primaries are a prime opportunity for college students and young people to cast their ballots and influence one of the most polarized elections in our history. So on March 8, go vote.
If you care about the future of this country — and you should, because you live in it — voting in this primary should be an urgent issue. Whether you’re Republican, a Democrat or fall somewhere else on the spectrum, our country needs your vote. Just as older generations are going to make their voices heard, millennials and young people must actively try to be a participating member in this democracy.
Issues that are front and center in this election are issues that directly affect this nation’s young people more than any other demographic.
College loans, tuition, the job market, the future of our environment and immigration policies will all shape what America looks like and how it operates in the future.
If earlier primaries are any indication of how much a single percentage point matters, Michigan is poised to have a close match between candidates on both sides of the aisle. In this election more than ever, your vote matters.
And especially this election year, young people are bound to decide a large portion of the nation’s vote.
Millennials, those born between 1982 and 2000, number 83.1 million, according to recent U.S. census results. Millennials represent more than one quarter of the nation’s population and are more diverse than baby boomers, another voting bloc that heavily influences election outcomes.
According to census data, the minority percentage grew to 37.9 percent in 2014. Our future looks much more different compared to the future of older generations, and we need to be an active part in making all of our diverse and different opinions and voices heard.
So why would we sit idly by while a group of older, possibly more out of touch voters decide our future?
The point is this: if our nation’s young people care enough to change the outcome of an election — to change the course of our nation’s policies and politics — we can.
And with your vote, we will.
