MTV says vote.
ASI says vote.
Campaign ads say vote.
But if you don’t know the issues and are clueless walking up to the voting booth, for dear democracy’s sake, don’t vote.
As one of the most sought-after demographics, we 18-to-30-year-olds are bombarded with messages about why it’s so important to “have our voices heard.” But if you don’t know what the candidates for county supervisor stand for, don’t randomly mark your ballot just because Scantron tests taught you never to leave an answer blank.
If you’ve been checking out facebook lately (like Mustang Daily editors do on an hourly basis), you might have noticed MTV’s Rock the Vote ad. It encourages users to 1) find their polling place or 2) get an absentee ballot. That’s it. While many college students want to rock their vote, if they only find out how to vote but not what to vote for, it’s like showing up to a final exam without even glancing at the class notes.
Democracy has made America a world superpower, but its citizens’ own ignorance could undermine its effectiveness globally. Of the 42.8 million U.S. citizens between age 18 and 30, only 64 percent are registered to vote according to the Youth Vote Coalition.
By contrast, 95 percent of Australia’s citizens are registered according to Wikipedia. Ninety-five percent! Why? Because citizens are required by law to vote; and if they don’t, they could be fined $20. And because they know they have to vote, they probably read up on the issues a bit more too.
So visit smartvoter.org or lwv.org (the League of Women Voters) or even your political party’s Web site. Know the issues; know what’s at stake; know how you want to vote.