Voting is the foundation of any functional democracy. Everyone should have the right to vote, even your grandfather who still believes that rock-and-roll music is the devil.<\/p>\n
It is a strange thought, but their vote should count the same as yours, your political science lecturer or even the President of Texas A&M University Steven Tallant Ph.D. That is what democracy is.<\/p>\n
The problem is, frankly, that we don\u2019t vote.<\/p>\n
According to the U.S. Census only 27 percent of people aged 18 to 24 in Texas voted in the 2016 general election.<\/p>\n
To put that in perspective, a report by the Yale program Climate Change Communication stated that 30 percent of Americans believes that climate change is not man-made.<\/p>\n
To combat that willful ignorance we need to vote in all elections, especially the one coming up on Nov. 6.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the deadline for registering to vote, Oct. 9, fast approaches.<\/p>\n
This can cause problems because Texas is a voter ID state, which means that in order to vote you must have some form of state-issued identification, not including your student ID.<\/p>\n
According to a study by Professor of Political Science at UCLA Matt Barreto, Ph.D. and Professor of Political Science at the University of New Mexico Gabriel Sanchez Ph.D., African-Americans in Texas are almost two times more likely to lack state-issued voter ID, while Mexican-Americans are nearly two-and-a-half times as likely to have one. It\u2019s just another one of those things white people seem to be more likely to have; like a sunburn or a senatorial candidacy.<\/p>\n
Setting aside the impact of voter ID laws on minorities, registering to vote can be very simple, or it can be a bureaucratic nightmare.<\/p>\n
Either way, it takes time.<\/p>\n
In Texas there are a few ways to register to vote. A couple of those methods are online forms that you mail to the courthouse or visiting said courthouse in person.<\/p>\n
However, the deadline for the online application has passed so you will have to go to the Kleberg County Courthouse at 700 East Kleberg Avenue in Kingsville.<\/p>\n
I realize that asking someone to go somewhere in 2018 is a lot ask. You\u2019d rather sit at home and like your best friend\u2019s \u201cno-filter\u201d picture on Instagram.<\/p>\n
However this election is an important one.<\/p>\n
Specifically, Texas will decide, among others, who will be their senator, governor and attorney general.<\/p>\n
If you want someone who represents your ideals and not some puppet for corporations get up, go out and vote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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