This is no time to be apathetic. This is the time to get out and vote… our lives depend on it.

The November primary elections are five months away (Nov.8) and with everything that’s been going on  in this country from inflation, to rampant gun violence, crime, abortion rights, white supremacy, and interference in elections, we have a moral obligation to flee to the polls with a sense of urgency. 

It can not be overstated how important it is that all of us, especially young people, cast our ballots come November.  

In accordance with an article published by the Intelligencer, the 2022 midterms will determine whether  Democrats maintain or lose their tenuous control over the U.S. Senate and House, in addition to the  balance of power in many states holding legislative and gubernatorial contests. Normally, the president’s party loses ground in midterms, especially if he’s as unpopular as Joe Biden currently is; and  currently, only 39% of U.S. adults approve of Biden’s performance as president. 

Despite how some of us may currently feel with the lack of action and progress that has been made on  key issues such as police reform, gun control legislation, and voting rights, we cannot let apathy supersede our desire to vote when life as we know it is hanging in the balance.  

If Republicans regain control of both Houses, everything that this country has prided itself on- freedom, liberty, and choice- will be up in smoke. As echoed by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, “Those of us  who are in support of democracy are up against a national coordinated effort to dismantle democracy from within, and that requires a national response that is just as coordinated and just as focused if democracy is going to survive.”  

WE MUST USE OUR VOTE AS A SOURCE OF POWER. We must vote into power individuals who actually seek to serve the people of this country instead of themselves. Ask yourself if our votes didn’t matter, why are representatives in states all over the country introducing and passing laws that will make it harder to vote rather than easier? 

According to the Brennan Center For Justice latest roundup of voting laws, state lawmakers, who spent  2021 passing laws that made it harder to vote, have focused more intently on election interference, passing nine laws that could lead to tampering with how elections are run and how results are  determined. 

Election interference laws do two primary things. They open the door to partisan interference in election, or they threaten the people and processes that make elections work. In many cases, these  efforts are being justified as measures to combat baseless claims of wide-spread voter fraud and a stolen 2020 election. 

Between January 1 and May 4, six state legislatures— Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, and Oklahoma — have passed nine election interference laws. As of May 4, at least 17 such bills introduced this year are still moving through five state legislatures. 

The threat to our democracy is real and pervasive. Voting is vital to the survival of this country and preserving our individual rights. 

We Are Gen Z