With midterms just around the corner, many college students have found themselves voting in their first Primary or General Elections. Most students don’t exercise their right to vote, though. A survey done by Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse found that 57% of students didn’t believe their vote made a difference in the November 2024 election, along with one-third of Americans feeling burnt out by politics by the end of the election.
However, the vote matters more than you might think. There have been hundreds of super close races in the United States. Over 2,000 races in 2010-2026 were decided by less than 3% points. More historically, James A. Garfield and Winfield Scott Hancock’s Presidential race was decided by 7,368 popular votes.
Voting is one of the most important rights we are given in this country, along with the right to a fair press, free speech, and freedom of religion. And in the current day and age where kids feel like everything is flying off the rails, this is when we should be voting loudly now more than ever.
To the suffragettes, civil rights activists, and indigenous people who fought for the right to vote, we owe it to them to honor their fight and participate in our democratic process.
That isn’t to say that everyone has the ability to vote. There are still very obvious systemic barriers in place that, as much as we encourage people to vote, we should also be investigating how to tear down these barriers so everybody who can vote has the opportunity to.
“Voting felt like it couldn’t make a difference to me before I was able to learn about civic engagement,” said Jaz Cortes Ramirez, a King County Elections Civic Education Intern. “In the past, I thought there were too many voices for my vote to [be] accounted for. Now I have realized that there are a lot of voices out there who cannot be heard due to barriers, so it is only right to execute our right to speak up for ourselves, our community, and those who cannot vote. We as youth also have the lowest percentage of ballots compared to any age group, it’s important we encourage each other to make a difference.”
“Countless people before us fought hard for our right to vote and to have a say in how we are governed,” stated Alinea Kirshenbaum, a UW college student and first-time midterm voter. “Although it is easy to feel powerless at times, voting is a process that I have found to be empowering! Simply filling out a ballot has the ability to politically energize and also to honor our ancestors who could not vote.”
Highline students, this is your call to get out the vote. There is a ballot box on campus next to Building 1 in the bus loop. Ballots in ballot boxes are accepted until 8 p.m. on Nov. 3.
If you have any questions about how to vote, do not hesitate to call (206) 296-8683 (King County Elections primary phone number).
Happy voting season, Thunderbirds!