You should be registered to vote and you should be voting.

I know I know, you hear it all the time. During election cycles, you’re constantly reminded that “this is the most important election of our time. Make sure you’re registered and you vote!” It’s the middle of October in an off election year, so why do you need to worry about it?

Put simply, college-aged Americans don’t vote like they should.

In a Zoom interview with Scott Lasley, head of the department of political science at WKU, told me the turnout of younger registered voters in non-presidential elections has been, in his words, “brutal.” Presidential election years do have much higher turnout, but it could still be better.

That’s not to say that the numbers aren’t getting better. I asked Lasley if recent elections are reflecting these rising numbers, and he told me that “there’s been a general trend up.” He said that politicians like Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders got young people excited.

In my personal experience, I’ve found that young people are passionate. They have opinions that they will act on if they care about them enough. At the same time, however, it’s difficult to get them to vote.

This is something I also asked Lasley: why don’t young people vote? He told me that many of these people are in a “transitory part of life. They’re busy.” Large numbers of this age group are moving to new places and starting college, the armed forces, entering the workforce or whatever new phase of life they may be going into. 

These transitions cause registering and going to vote to get lost in the back of the minds of young people. Lasley also pointed out that college students tend to vote in higher numbers than those of the same age not seeking higher education. 

Lasley told me the ability to register online is one of the best ways to get college-aged Americans voting. Many dread actually going to the courthouse to register, hoping they remember their Social Security card. Being able to register online allows people to do so from the comfort of their own homes, making sure they have everything required.

He also told me that easier access to absentee and early voting would help get young people voting. Because they are so busy, they aren’t always able to go to a polling place. If college students move away from home, they more than likely will not be able to make a quick trip home just to vote. Having the ability to vote early or use an absentee ballot will ensure that these people will have their voices heard.

But still, you ask, “why do I need to vote?”

Voting truly is the most important thing that Americans can do. Without your vote, the American government could not function and the United States would not be the nation it is today.

People closer to our ages are beginning to take on more elected roles in local, state and the federal government. This shows a shift, from one generation to the next. As President John F. Kennedy put it in his Inaugural Address, “the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.”

In my study of American history and politics, I’ve seen that this happens every few decades. Yes young people are always involved in government, but there are times where more of these younger people are newly able to vote and/or run for office. When this happens, politics changes.

In the Senate, Jon Ossoff, a Democrat from Georgia, is the youngest member at 34 years old. The youngest member of the House of Representatives is 25 year-old Madison Cawthorn, a Republican from North Carolina. There are many people around the ages of both in each house of Congress.

I’ve been interested in politics and government from a young age, and I remember being asked many times why I was. This showed me that I have a passion and a care that many my age did not—and still don’t—share. 

It’s time for this to change.

Issues like climate change and the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 will greatly impact this generation for years to come, whether we care about them or not. If this generation wishes to make an impact on them, no matter their beliefs, they must take action and vote.

Voting is how one will get their voice heard. If one wishes to have a say in the government and get things done in a way they agree with, they must cast a ballot for the candidate with which they most agree. If this doesn’t happen, America’s democracy cannot and will not succeed. 

I understand that people of this age are busy, their minds focused on other things. I can’t say that I’m not the same way. If the American experiment is to continue and democracy protected, however, young people must realize their new role in government and politics. Issues that may not have affected them before will now affect them in ways they never thought possible. 

In order to create a nation that represents the ever-changing state of the world, young people must claim their stake that they have in the nation. They are no longer spectators, but are the main players that must begin to take responsibility for their future.

In order to do this, they must cast their votes.

Commentary writer Price Wilborn can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @pricewilborn.