Representation. Accountability. Justice. Responsibility.

These were Rowland Hall students’ answers to the prompt, “Distill why people should vote in one word.”

You might’ve heard celebrities encouraging you to vote as they accept an award, or you might’ve heard that the midterms are coming up, whatever that means.

I’m here to make this as simple as possible.

I’m going to tell you why voting is important, I’m going to help you register to vote and remind you what elections are coming up, and finally, I’m going to show you how to participate in our democracy if you can’t vote.

First of all, why should you vote? It’s one vote, does it really matter? Will my singular ballot decide the outcome of the election? We live in Utah, a known red state, isn’t the election already decided for us?

While “your vote may not directly elect the president,” as TIME magazine reports, that shouldn’t discourage you from voting.

I’m not here to tell you voting is your right—it’s not. Not everyone has an equal right to vote, only citizens can vote, voting by mail disproportionately disenfranchises people of color, and on and on. My family can’t vote, yet we pay the same taxes as everyone else. We abide by the same rules, we are impacted the same by who’s elected, yet we have no say in who that is. America loves to tout its liberty, yet millions of people in this country are suffering from literal taxation without representation.

That’s why this story is personal to me. Years into the future I’ll hopefully gain the ability to vote—but until then, the fates of millions of documented and undocumented people in the US rest on your shoulders. Don’t take it for granted. And if you can’t vote, drive people to the polls, volunteer for a political party, or campaign for a candidate who represents your beliefs.

Again, voting isn’t your right—it’s your responsibility.

“What we’re doing is not only about us,” writes Martha Jones, an American historian. You carry a weight on your shoulders. A weight made up of poll taxes, literacy tests, voter suppression and intimidation laws, and bans on giving water to voters in line. It all falls on your shoulders.

I’ve thrown a lot at you, but stay with me. As important as it is to vote, the US doesn’t have an automatic registration system, so you have to register yourself. I’m going to make that as easy as possible. In Utah, you need to register through their website. The process is easy. There are just two requirements: You need to be 16 or 17 to register (18 to vote), and you need to be a US citizen.

1. Go to secure.utah.gov/voterreg. If you don’t know if you’ve already registered, you can check on the website.

2. Click “Register to Vote.”

3. Fill out the form. Here’s what you’ll need: 1) Driver’s license or State ID, 2) Last four digits of SSN, 3) US passport (to prove citizenship).

4. **There are deadlines for voter registration, the last day to register online is Friday, October 28th. Check on more deadlines here: https://vote.gov/register/ut/

So you’re registered, now what? Midterms happen between presidential elections, and they are crucial. The midterms are on November 8th this year. Currently, 34 out of 100 Senate seats are up for reelection and all 435 House representatives are too. Here are some of the ones that you can vote on:

• Senate Race: Mike Lee (R- incumbent) vs Evan McMullin (I)

  • All voters in Utah can vote in this election.

• US House District 2 (my district): Chris Stewart (R-incumbent) vs Nicholas Mitchell (D)

  • Only people who live in District 2 can vote in this election.

You can check what elections are happening in your district on Sample Ballot Lookup - Ballotpedia.

I feel like I’m writing this as a trapped, omniscient narrator. I can look at the state of our country, I can hold my opinions, I can tweet, but I can’t fundamentally change anything. You can. You can fundamentally change the future of this country. I’m not trying to indoctrinate you to vote left or right. I’m just saying that there have been hundreds of laws aimed at voter suppression around the country, and it’s getting more and more difficult to vote. If we want to change that, we have to vote. Vote. Vote for me, vote for the millions of people who can’t, vote like your ___ depends on it. Because it does.