Change happens when, and if, you vote

For this election, sitting out isn’t an option.

I’m telling you that you will regret it if you forget to or don’t take the opportunity to vote. You have until Oct. 11 to register to vote in Texas and the process has never been easier.

Despite this, young voters have found it easier is to sit back and let others decide the political landscape of the country. Voter turnout fell to a record low of 19.9 percent for voters ages 18–29 in 2014.

If this percentage doesn’t sound low to you, you are a major part of the problem.

It doesn’t matter if you want to vote for Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Gary Johnson or Jill Stein. It’s important that we all go to the voting booth this November and exercise our right to choose who we think should be the next president.

This is it: our chance to put our money where our mouth is. It only comes around every four years, so don’t shrug off the fact that you might not make it to your polling location on election day.

Sadly, not that many people are showing up to the polls. Yes, there has been an all-time high for Republican voters since 1980 and the numbers are looking a lot like the record numbers of 2008. Still, only 28.5 percent of estimated eligible voters voted in the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries this election.

Of course, the numbers will be higher on election day, but this is only a portion of our population.

In 2012, 72 percent of eligible voters ages 65 and older voted in the presidential election. Only 45 percent of eligible voters ages 18–29 showed up to cast their vote.

Can there be any bigger hint at how important it is that you vote? Elderly voters are determining who will run the country during the most precious living years of the younger generations.

Go right now and register. You don’t even have to leave your house. It will probably take you more time to pick your next movie on Netflix.

The 2012 voter turnout is not near good enough. We are not voting for something petty or unimportant. This election will affect us all in some form or another. In his eight years, President Barack Obama lifted us out of a huge recession, added over 9 million jobs and stopped all major operations related to his predecessor’s war in Iraq.

It’s important that we focus on this basic principle given to us by the Constitution. The poll numbers will never be close to 100 percent, but we should strive for greater numbers.

So many people feel underrepresented when it comes to politics, but they are unwilling to vote. Even as a Democrat in a state that is sure to go to the Republicans again, I believe, voting for Clinton is important.

It’s important because I will know I voted for the right candidate this election and not the one backed by fear mongers. When she wins (and, boy, will she win), I will know I that voted for Clinton. I was a part of her becoming president.

If Trump wins then that will be a travesty for this Democrat, but would you like to be part of the reason that he was voted into office? Do you want to tell your grandkids that you voted for Trump, and paved the way for another Republican, and a radical one at that, to reclaim the White House?

Some might think that their vote doesn’t matter because it’s just one among millions. But Bernie Sanders and his political revolution won a lot more states than anyone thought that he could.

The Democratic Party was so scared of the power of Sanders’ voters that they actively tried to sabotage his campaign in favor of Clinton, or the safer and more reliable candidate. Voters can have a lot more power than people give them credit for.

The DNC leaks revealed more than just politicians trying to suppress the votes of so many. What I see when I read the most damning leaked emails is a political system that is beginning to get scared.

Sanders’ political revolution showed the world that the right to vote is the most powerful tool of anyone wanting change in the government.

Opinion editor Frank Campos is a media production senior and can be reached at [email protected].