Does my vote count? Why should I vote? These are questions every young American has heard before. American youth vote at lower rates than the general public. In fact, American youth turned out 10% lower than the national average during the last presidential election. Young people are the future of this country, and having so many of them unengaged in the future of our country is dangerous. A true democracy requires the participation of everyone. In the 2024 election, young people must vote for three reasons: it's our duty, it protects our freedoms, and it advances legislation.

Most young people don’t vote. Most Americans 18-29 don’t vote, and a majority of Americans in this age group haven’t voted in over 50 years. Their turnout for national elections is consistently under 50%, and if you thought that’s bad, it’s even worse in midterms, with only 27% of this demographic voting in 2022. Nevertheless, young people are at the forefront of activism, fighting for policies like climate change, gun control, reproductive freedoms, and police reform.

How often have you or someone you know complained about the inequality within our current governmental representation? Did you ever stop to think that one explanation is that people in your district don't vote or aren't registered to vote? With this type of disinterest within your community comes the same indifference from your representatives. I'm sure you've heard the old adage – 'The squeaky wheel gets the grease.' In other words, the most noticeable or loudest communities are the ones that get the attention to make changes happen.

Democratic political races affect voters more than the primary campaigns we hear about on the news. Small local Democratic races rarely make it into the news, so most of us treat them as inconsequential. The truth is that these local in-district and state legislative and political races are as crucial to our nation's health as the primary campaigns we hear about daily. Local in-district and state legislative campaigns are considered down-ballot races.