I have always known the importance of voting. It has been drilled into me for as long as I can remember, from the mock presidential election my kindergarten class did in 2008 to Student Member of the Board elections in middle and high school, and finally, now: the 2020 Presidential Election.
I never imagined that my first time voting in a general election would include driving up to my high school that I hadn’t stepped inside for nearly eight months, putting on a mask and walking my ballot up the big giant dropbox, but that was probably one of the less bizarre things to happen in 2020.
Generation Z now makes up a growing part of the electorate. For many of us, it is our first time ever voting this year. The youngest of us was in kindergarten when Obama was first elected; the oldest are just out of college. We have watched countless injustices take place right in front of our eyes, and finally, we can use one of our most fundamental rights in a democracy to fight back.
So much is at stake in this election. COVID-19 cases are rising by the day. Healthcare is at risk of being taken away in a time when citizens will need it most. The planet is approaching a point of no return with climate change.
Data and recent polling is suggesting that voters under 30 may break their historic turnout from 2008. Young voters are historically unreliable when it comes to turnout, but early voting numbers are already at a historic high.
It is empowering to know I am able to witness and participate in this important time in history. That my time and vote are like a golden ticket for democracy. That the work I did over the summer and in the early fall with text-banking and registering students from my school will propel us towards change.
When I voted, I thought about the 210,000 empty chairs at the dining table, the families who don’t know where their next meal is coming from, the students falling behind in school because they’re trying to learn from a computer screen and the essential workers who leave their home every day knowing that they’re putting their life on the line to just do their job. I thought about the people in my own life: my younger sister who’s missing out on the beginning of her high school experience and my grandparents whom I haven’t been able to hug in nearly eight months.
As we approach the election, I feel anxious and uneasy. It’s an uphill battle from here. We likely won’t know the results for days or even weeks. COVID-19 cases won’t stop rising after the election, no matter who wins. We can’t guarantee that the world is going to change, but we have to hope and do everything in our power to make change a reality.
Remember the lessons we were taught about why it’s so important that your voice be heard. Text your friends and family to make sure they have a plan to vote. Make sure you have a plan to vote, and then vote like you’ve never voted before.
Article by Emma Saltzman of Walter Johnson High School