Voter Registration

By: Addison Mullis and Abigail Cumbus

Let’s make a change in our country. According to census.gov, despite being the largest demographic of people, the lowest percentage of voters is between the ages of 18 to 24 at a 51.4% turnout rate. This fact leaves Mauldin City Council Member Taft Matney confused as he states, “It never made sense to me. Of course, remember that it’s not just about voting because oftentimes you’re only looking at the senior class that’s able to do that. Looking at underclassmen they still have the ability to get involved, and I’ve never understood why that lack of desire is there in some people because if I’m given the opportunity to determine or have a say in what my future is going to be, you can bet that I’m gonna work for that and not sit back and let somebody else decide that for me.” 

In efforts to try to increase the percentage of young voters, the Students in Action club hosted a voter registration drive led by junior Ella Jones. Other organizations in schools around the county have contributed to this as well, thus competing with each other. Despite the fact that she is ineligible to vote, Jones is determined to get as many of age people to register to vote, “Having teenagers as a whole vote could change anything, you could change anything with a big group of people.” Matney was proud to hear about this, as voting is an important action to him.

Even though this isn’t a presidential election, that doesn’t mean this election isn’t important. With our federalist system of government, our state and local governments are just as important as the presidential election. Matney would even go as far as to argue that they are more important: “The ones that impact you the most are at the local level, whether it’s your local state house member or your state senator, but then you drill down into your school board members, your county council members, your city council members. Those things that impact really what happens here at home. What your roads look like, what your schools look like, how much money you get to take home after taxes, where new schools are going to be built, how those are going to be built…” Even if students are not concerned about these positions, the impact they have directly affects them, like our school board members. There are also higher positions like governor, House of Representatives delegates, and a Senator. 

Thus, like Jones, underclassmen must encourage young people to vote. A way students can get others to vote is by reminding people that their future depends on that vote. If they don’t want a specific candidate to represent them, why would they step back and let them take the win? “Do you care about your future? Get involved… I mean if there are things that you care about, and if you sit on the sidelines and you don’t get involved, if you don’t volunteer, if you don’t vote, it makes it very difficult to make sure that who is representing you is representing your core beliefs,” Matney sternly explains. Another way to get others to vote is simply by promoting voting. Remind people of the benefits of registering to vote. “There are no disadvantages to voting, it's always a good thing to do… and once you're registered, you're registered for life,” Jones explains. One thing someone can do is volunteer to help candidates. Matney was six years old when he first got involved in voting; he helped his friend's dad run for mayor. It’s as easy as handing out posters, pins, or simply telling people about that specific candidate. Supporting someone is always important. Again, students need to realize that this is their future to determine, so on November 8, they need to take action and vote.