A few darkened marks on paper, hidden behind a bordered-off cube is all it takes to make a change in the United States.
The time for marching in the streets and hanging fliers promoting political agendas is coming to an end as early voting at UF begins. For the first time in the university’s history, early voting is available on campus in the Reitz Union from Oct. 22 to Nov. 3.
On-campus voting is an opportunity for student voters and Alachua County residents that has never been utilized before. The accessibility for voters to get to the polls is commonly cited as a major factor in voter turnout. Also, the inability to get to the polls is often understood as a form of voter oppression, and that’s what makes this year’s polling change such a significant one.
At UF there are countless reminders to vote. There was hardly a day I would walk through Turlington or the Reitz Union without someone asking me if I had a registered to vote or if I planned to vote. Yes, and yes, I would always say. They were spreading small reminders, to vote, vote, vote.
In my political science class freshman year, my professor said that if we took only one thing away from that class, it was that we need to use our right to vote. She never pushed who we should vote for and she never expressed who she had voted for. Just vote, she would say.
So now I’m saying it too: vote.
Take twenty minutes out of your day to research who you should vote for. Take ten minutes out of your day to walk to the Reitz. Take thirty seconds out of your day to fill in a few dots on a sheet of paper. And that’s it, thirty minutes and you’ve done something that really matters.
On-campus voting can give a voice to college students that has never been available before. To not take advantage of this opportunity is to not only hurt yourself, but to hurt your classmates, your neighbors and your family. There have been countless amounts of times when I’ve heard people say that this election could be a major turning point in history, and maybe that’s true or maybe it isn’t.
The only way to ensure that any kind of change can take place is with yourself. If you want things to stay the same or if you want things to change drastically in this political climate, you are the one who can make that happen.
The people who pushed for on-campus voting care about your vote. I know that it can be hard to find time in the day, especially when you may feel like voting won’t mean anything, but I’m telling you, you have time. Instead of spending thirty minutes in a Starbucks line or scrolling through Instagram, you could have researched candidates and cast your vote.
Older generations grew up with the mentality that voting is a civic duty that shouldn’t be taken for granted, and they continue to feel this way. It is why older generations’ voter turnout trounces young-adult voter turnout. Early voting on campus is an incredible opportunity to bring young adults to the polls, and it deserves to be utilized.
If you have any sort of opinion on politics, which I know you do, vote. I’m relying on you to make an educated vote on what you care about, as is the rest of the country. It may not feel like your vote counts, but that mindset will never encourage a change of politics in the U.S. Thirty minutes of your day, that’s all I’m asking, for you to walk to the Reitz and vote.
Michaela Mulligan is a UF journalism sophomore. Her column appears on Wednesdays.
