Election Day is around the corner, but in recent years, the polls are lacking in receiving ballots from young voters.
The election is on Nov. 8th. Young voters, ages 18-25 are rarely seen using their voice by participating in elections, especially the midterms.
Jan Leighley from the online news source, Governing said that age “is another crucial difference beyond just how many people vote.” Young voters only carry a small percentage of voters, leaving them to be discouraged by their vote not mattering.
Courtney Caban, a Sophomore Citrus student, was the only one sure that she was voting in the upcoming election. Caban said, “I already know who I’m voting for and will be voting on Election Day.”
Students like Geoffrey Varas, speak for most students out there when he says he was “not voting in the upcoming election, as he feels he is not educated enough on the different candidates or the propositions the election is covering.”
This is the problem for most young voters when it comes to the midterm elections, as they are still determining which candidates fit their same morals and ambitions. Along with not knowing what voting on each proposition will do, they decide to simply not vote at all to avoid conflict.
The following are the propositions explained, which voters can read to find what vote fits them the best. All information regarding the propositions was pulled from the official Los Angeles County election ballots.
Proposition 1: Giving women the right to choose. Whether that includes the right to an abortion or contraceptives.
Proposition 26: Would issue physical gambling sites on Native American tribal lands where participants who are 21 years or older could place sports bets at certain racetracks and casinos.
Proposition 27: Would legalize sports betting for participants 21 years or older on online databases where they can take part in gambling for card games, racetracks, tribal gambling, etc.
Proposition 28: Would allow more funding to be dispersed to the music and art programs at every K-12 school. The money for the budget would be pulled from the annual funding schools already receive annually, simply more money would go to the music and art programs. Voting yes would support the budget for arts programs in public schools, as well as music.
Proposition 29: Would have a new dialysis clinic requirement initiative that requires at least one medical practitioner to be present during a patient’s treatment. Voting yes would favor the presence of a medical practitioner during a patient’s dialysis.
Proposition 30: Would provide funding for programs to reduce air pollution and prevent wildfires by increasing a tax on personal income of $2 million. Voting yes would support the personal tax going toward programs that would help reduce air pollution and prevent wildfires.
Proposition 31: Would prohibit the sale of flavored tobacco products. Voting yes would support the ban on selling flavored tobacco products.
Voting no on any of these propositions would reject any of the propositions following through to the state.
Citrus College will also have a voting center on the day of the election, Nov. 8th. It will be in Hayden Hall, where anyone in the community can come in, fill out, and drop off their ballot.
