The Time for Waiting is Over
Early Vote TODAY!
When I first heard John Mayer’s song “Waiting on the World to Change,” I was struck by how perfectly it captured the voice of youth today. Like a sleeping giant, so many of us are literally waiting for the world to change.
But here’s the thing. The time for waiting, if there ever really was one, is over! This November, young voters have the opportunity, not to hope for change, not to wish for a better world, but to stand up and make it so. From the top of the ticket to local commission races, young voters will be THE key to sweeping in a wave of change that will revitalize our political life and potentially rewrite the future of this great nation. In fact, a recent analysis of battleground states found that if the Florida goes blue, it will be due to the large margins that young voters will give to Democrats.
Rivaling the Baby Boomers in size, 18-29 year-olds make up one quarter of the voting population today and we are the most diverse and progressive generation in US history. Our votes CAN swing elections. And in Florida, our participation has the ability to rewrite the electoral map.
So how do we make it happen? It’s simple, really -WE VOTE! And we vote in record numbers by bringing our friends, families, co-workers, classmates and anyone else we know to the polls. If we want OUR issues and OUR concerns to be part of the political dialogue, we have to start by letting politicians know that young voters are engaged, informed and that we will, as a bloc, hold them accountable in this election and in every one to come.
You don’t even have to wait to cast a ballot. Early voting is going on now in every county in Florida and there are even weekend voting hours in every county in case you have trouble getting off work or away from school during the week. Newspapers are reporting that young voters have been lagging behind older voters in taking advantage of early voting and the “experts” are using it as an opportunty to say, “I told you so!” I know it’s not because we don’t care, and I know that on election night we will prove the pundits wrong by turning out in record numbers. But until then, the more of us who vote early, the sooner people will see that if you challenge our generation, we will rise above expectations everytime.
So don’t wait until November 4th to make your voice heard. Check out www.govote.org to find out where and when you can early vote in your community. And if you are waiting for election day, you can also find your polling place for Election Day.
Don’t wait for the world to change - Go make it happen TODAY!
Lori Poole
Executive Director, Florida Young Democrats
