The reality of USD student voting

USD has differing opinions regarding student voter responsibility and the pressures that come with it

Jennifer Mossuto / Feature Editor / The USD Vista

Only 28 percent of millennials and Gen Z, 18 to 29-year-olds, are certain they are voting in the midterm election on Nov. 6. This group now makes 33.3 percent of the vote, and holds the power to change the outcome of the popular vote. With less than one-third of this group planning to vote, how can students expect more of their friends and peers to use their power in this election? Sophomore Lexi Crea is surprised by the lack of voter participation.

“I am encouraging my friends to vote,” Crea said. “Me and my roommates were on a trip in Palm Springs for the long weekend and one night the midterm elections got brought up and I started asking everyone, ‘Are you registered to vote?’ and I actually helped my roommate from Colorado register to vote right then to get her absentee ballot and it only took her a minute.”

Crea is from Lone Tree, Co., and is voting through an absentee ballot for her state. She is constantly encouraging others to vote, whether it is for California or their home state, and offers help to everyone she can.

“I’ve been posting on Instagram about the importance of voting, and some people actually respond and say, ‘Thank you for posting this,’ and I’m just generally telling everybody, ‘I don’t care who you’re voting for but it’s really important to be registered to vote and to actually make sure you not just be registered, but also fill out your absentee form and actually mail your ballot in,’” Crea said.

When asked about her plans to vote, Crea immediately perked up and explained how easy it was to get her absentee ballot and register online.

“Yes, I plan to vote,” Crea said. “I have my ballot right now and I will be mailing it on Monday. It wasn’t difficult at all to get my ballot. I would say the only inconvenient thing was getting it from the mail center, which is so easy. It takes one, maybe two minutes to fill out the absentee form, which is extremely easy to do online. You only need your name, driver’s license, and clarification of an address, and that’s it.”

Since Crea is from out of state, her voting propositions are different than California’s. Due to the difference in climate and weather, Colorado includes propositions that focus on the environment. Proposition 112 on her district’s ballot considers whether oil and gas companies should have to be 2,500 feet away from vulnerable land when drilling, fracking, or anything of the sort.

“Prop 112 is especially important to me because if it passes, then we are helping and considering our future generations,” Crea said. “Some people want to vote (against it) because it could put jobs at risk, but at the same time I think the future of our planet should hold a heavier weight. I think the environment is really important, especially since it is neglected by the current administration, but this proposition hopefully could lead to more environmental propositions in the future.”

Other USD students have differing opinions about this election. Sophomore Kylé Kirsch is from Northern California and has not yet voted, but plans to and expects her friends at USD to vote as well. In comparison to Crea, Kirsch has more of a hesitant position toward voting.

“I think voting is important but sometimes it’s hard to remind myself that my vote counts for something,” Kirsch said. “There’s so many people voting and it’s hard to wrap my head around an individual vote having any value but I know that it’s my civic duty to vote and it’s an important right to have.”

With millennials and Gen Z controlling 33.3 percent of the vote, their opinions are extremely important to this election. If they were to all participate, they could easily flip a vote. For California specifically, these young adults are more likely to be concerned about repealing the gas tax. Others are concerned about banning meat sales, but do USD students care about these prevalent issues?

“Prop 12 stood out to me,” Kirsch said. “It changes the standards for confinement of farm animals. The conditions farm animals are held in are inhumane and by banning sales of non-compliant companies, it creates an incentive to change the animals’ living conditions.”

Unlike Kirsch and Crea, NBC News states that only 16 percent of millennials claim to have great interest in voting or politics. Whether a student is from in or out of state, both Crea and Kirsch recognize the importance of voting and encourage the people around them to register and learn more about the election. Although they do not think more than half of the student population is voting, they hope it turns out that way. As a university that creates changemakers, and with many students who have not had the opportunity to vote before this election, they are encouraged to use their voice and use their vote in this midterm and all future elections. USD will have a polling station on campus this Tuesday.