This election cycle has been full of a lot of talking, arguing, shouting, and cursing—loudly. From calling for a wall on our southern border to calling for free community college for all, leaving a lot of things to be discussed and thought about it.
Yet amidst all the mudslinging and debating, there is a murmur of something.
It’s gotten some headlines, but not nearly enough as the antics of our presidential hopefuls. It’s the voice of young voters in this election.
Now, I’m not talking about the protests or rallies, the digital debates via Facebook and Twitter, or endorsing a candidate in casual conversation. In this election, just as with any, voter’s voices are there vote.
Legislature after legislature have attempted to quell that voice in the democratic process.
First came the wave of voter ID laws that made it more difficult for elderly women, students, and minorities to vote. Then came negative changes in voter registration policies, with some states such as Florida virtually eliminating early registration entirely.
Perhaps the most devastating of the challenges to young voters, in 2013 when Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was overturned by the Supreme Court: by eliminating this key aspect of the Voting Rights Act, states with histories of voter exclusion (typically racially based) are no longer required to clear changes in voting laws or maps with the Department of Justice.
Since this crucial ruling, voters have been encountering obstacles all over the country.
In the past year particularly, voters have been reporting even more issues than the ones previously mentioned.
Enraged Arizonans are calling for federal intervention in their state due to redistricting that made polling places unmanageable: some Arizonans waited 5 hours to vote, only to have the polling site close before they could cast their ballot.
Others were shocked by unauthorized changes to their political affiliation on their voter registration.
North Carolinians have faced issues with their registrations as well, except that theirs were never getting to their elected officials.
Voters from Florida, infamous for ballot issues in the 2000 presidential election, reported issues with voting machines that caused hours-long wait and confusion. Florida is also one of the states that has strictly limited third-party registration drives. These drives are when organizations such as League of Women Voters, Rock the Vote, and the Fair Elections Legal Network go out at community events and register people to vote.
A group that benefits from those drives has also been consistently challenged at the polls, like the country’s college students.
1.7 million young adults, aged 18-29, used third-party registration drives to register prior to the 2008 presidential election, according to Campus Vote Project (CVP).
CVP also reports that states such as Maine and New Hampshire have attempted to curb student voting by redefining residency rules and distribute misinformation. Those voter ID laws that compromise the votes of so many groups is certainly impacting students. Student IDs are no longer acceptable forms of identification in certain states. The elimination of early voting options and same day election/registration has also negatively impacted the collegiate vote.
So what can students of Bucks, do to reclaim their voice/vote? The resolution is as simple as it is complicated, use it.
When the time comes to vote in the general election there is one thought all voters should take with them to the poll.
We are all the result of hundreds of years of countless fights, rallies, movements, all dedicated to having each individual’s voice heard.
Thousands of Americans worked tirelessly so that a stranger they’d never know from a future they’d never see could have the say they never got. Voting serves as a reminder to those that try to silence the little people that we won’t go quietly.