Editorial Board: Vote

There’s no mistaking that the 2018 midterm elections are different. 

After two years of a nonstop news cycle, we are saturated with politics. Some people have never felt more spoken to by a politician. Others have never felt more ignored. But many are acting. 

Midterm elections tend to generate low turnout among voters. But the more local the election, the greater impact it has on your life. And most states have seen a jump in voter registration this year, according to USA Today. 

The millennial vote is key. Although millennials often get flak for their seeming lack of care and attention to the media and politics, there’s evidence that the opposite is the case this year. 

Texas and Georgia, two traditionally Republican-leaning states, have increased their early vote rate among 18-to-29-year-olds by nearly five times or more compared to 2014, according to Independent. 

A recent poll found that 18-to-29-year-olds are far more likely to vote in Tuesday's midterm election than they were in 2010 and 2014, according to CNN. “Forty percent of those polled said they would 'definitely vote' in the midterms,” CNN wrote. 

Despite the jump in early voting among millennials, it can’t stop here. Numbers have shown that if young voters show up, election outcomes will be drastically different than if millennials chose not to show up.

There are a lot of issues up for debate. Healthcare. Immigration. Gun control. Climate change. LGBTQ rights. Trade. Education. #MeToo. Taxes. The opioid epidemic. Criminal justice reform. Abortion. Drug policy. The Supreme Court. The list goes on.

In a time when people have increasingly different views on the state of the country, voting in this election is voting for the future you want. 

Whether you agree with the current state of affairs or not, it is your right to vote and have your voice heard. 

But choosing not to vote is still influencing the election. If you have the ability to vote -- if you are able-bodied, of age and registered -- sitting out of this election is a statement. It is your right to make that decision, but it should be an intentional decision, not a lack thereof. 

Make no mistake, not voting will have an impact on this election and the country. 

We are no Taylor Swift, but we feel obligated to use our platform and lend our voice to the chorus calling for you to exercise your constitutional right. 

Part of journalism is just showing up. So is democracy. On Tuesday, vote. 

We will.