Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

COLUMN: Students must understand voting's importance
By Chelsea Wreden
Daily Evergreen (Washington State U.)
10/11/2006

(U-WIRE) PULLMAN, Wash. — The lives of young adults are, more likely than not, hectic as many of us pursue future goals. In becoming an adult in society, we gain the right to vote. This is often avoided by many young people primarily for two reasons: the inconvenience of voting and the lack of knowledge about political campaigns.

In reference to the convenience factor, voters have the chance - and often the requirement - to vote absentee. This is when a ballot gets mailed to you and all you have to do is drop it in the mailbox once you've made your selections.

On the other topic, understanding the proposed political debates can be achieved with a little effort on the Internet. The article on the Front Page of The Daily Evergreen on Tuesday titled "Informed Voters. Mission Impossible?" explored the concept that true comprehension of politics and the governmental structure is hardly possible.

However, interpreting the main idea for each of the candidates and propositions is not only more easily attained than ever, considering today's technology, but also vital if we want to have any say at all in how our country is run.

Young adults consist of a large population of potential voters. It is crucial in our society for us to appreciate and take advantage of our right to vote. If we do not vote, we have no room to complain about the political system. Choosing to not participate in this process gives up your only chance to contribute to the huge decisions at stake. Consequently, our population's votes can be extremely influential in the whole scheme of things.

It may not seem like such a big deal if one person does not vote, but that is not the case. There are thousands of young adults - more specifically college students - who apparently feel as though they are all that person whose vote won't make a difference.

We cannot look at voting in this light, we have to acknowledge our power.

Otherwise, we make the choice to have no say about decisions that will affect our lives.

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