Editorial: Register and vote, make our voices heard

For the past year, America has immersed itself in a presidential election like no other. Beyond following the constant drama from a few select candidates, however, a greater issue is at hand.

Voter Registration Day focuses not on the latest headlines, but the democratic responsibility at hand. College students possess a crucial voice that rarely speaks loud enough at the polls. Every two years, the same message urging everybody to vote rings true. USD luckily supports a wide range of political voices and organizations, but as involved as the campus is, we have a long way to go.

Interested voters in South Dakota can still register themselves by Oct. 24. The Secretary of State’s website provides all necessary information. Either printing the form from online or filling it out in person, the form simply requests a birthdate, mailing and home address, phone number, license or Social Security information and party affiliation. With such a straightforward process, we have little excuse to not register, especially South Dakota natives.

Several USD organizations are also helping interested students register to vote. The College Republicans and College Democrats will set aside their differences Tuesday afternoon to offer Yote Floats and voter registration information. 

Even if the two presidential hopefuls don’t seem appealing, every vote still counts and there’s still local elections to vote in. The Pew Research Center predicts that our generation continually grows in voter representation, but the true test lies in voter turnout. Young people cannot expect their needs to be met if they don’t use the opportunity to utilize representative democracy. This system can’t work properly if the population isn’t accurately represented.

We cannot realistically write political Facebook statuses or Tweets, complaining about initiatives and candidates whilst simultaneously doing nothing about them. The only true way to have our voices heard is at the ballot box.  If we fail to vote, we yield the ultimate power to older generations to make decisions about the leaders and laws that will shape and lead society for decades, and chances are those decisions won’t be congruent with our unique perspective.

We are extremely lucky to live in our current setting. Other countries across the globe lack political democratic institutions. They don’t even have the option to shape their government and their future. Minorities like women and people of color fought for decades to partake in this Constitutional right. Before marking the ballot on Nov. 8, we also need to inform ourselves on the candidates and ballot measures involved. Information such as guides from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities stress the civic responsibility to consider the options at hand and make informed decisions when electing representatives to office, both at the national and local level.

South Dakota voters especially can have a major impact on politics in the state this year. There’s important ballot measures that will be voted on this election, from Amendment T, a measure that would create a nonpartisan, independent redistricting commission that would essentially end gerrymandering in the state, to Amendment V, a measure that would establish nonpartisan elections. There’s also measures relating to caps on payday loans and campaign finance reform.

We, as college students, should be a political force to be reckoned with. Cliché as it sounds, we are truly the future.
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We have the ability to make enduring changes and it’s up to us to make sure the changes that take place in the next four years are ones we can support.