I don’t care for whom. Many voices will enter your Instagram reels, or your TikTok feed or even your school email account over the coming weeks and months. There will undoubtedly be targeted ads from Republican candidates, or Donald Trump’s campaign, inciting you to vote in both the Republican primary and in the general presidential election. Likewise, there will be people from Joe Biden’s camp who will attempt to persuade you into voting for the Democratic ticket. After all, whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, or really don’t care for anything political at all, the youth vote is perhaps the most appetizing on the menu for political candidates who are struggling to expand polarized voting bases.
We all are tired with the whole “this election is the most important of our lifetimes” argument that seems to be cycled through every single election cycle. Or, at least, I’m really tired of it. Democrats use the argument when they don’t have an actual alternative platform that will attract people to vote for them instead of just saying “Republicans are evil and a spawn of Satan, and sure we also suck but we won’t decide what you can or can’t do with your body,” and Republicans use the argument when their standard “Sure, we’ll take away your social security slowly over time, but, hey, at least gas prices will be down a dollar” argument isn’t enough.
Now, I’m a Democrat who often votes for progressives in local elections that lose to more generic Democratic candidates, so I’m well aware of what it feels like to be tired and frustrated with the political process. In fact, I don’t think a single candidate I’ve ever voted for in a primary has ever won that election. I’m even willing to admit that for the past few months I’ve strongly considered not voting for Biden in the general election this fall. I would never vote for a Republican personally, so, for me, this would likely mean I would not cast a ballot in the presidential election for any candidate. But, each time the desire to just sit it out and spectate the true shit-storm that the second half of 2024 is going to be due to the presidential campaign raises its head, I remind myself of the importance of our generation on the outcome.
Appealing to duty is a very hard political argument to make in a country that so often ignores the pain and suffering of its citizens while appeasing corporate entities, their many lobbyists, and representatives throughout the political system. However, it is our duty as citizens to vote in 2024. Forty-one million members of Generation Z will be eligible to vote in the upcoming election, making us a more powerful voting block than in any other election so far. At the same time, we are also an extremely diverse electorate, who care about the widest spread of political issues of any generation that will be turning up to vote at the polls in November.
National politics, unfortunately, influences the entire political system. One of the issues that I deeply care about, for example, is the appointment of federal judges. Federal judges take up the controversial cases that may ultimately reach the Supreme Court upon appeal and can directly impact everyone throughout the country, so their appointment is of crucial importance to anyone who cares about reproductive rights, voting rights or, really, any rights that you hold dear. As of November 2023, President Biden has nominated 145 judges to the district courts, the appeals courts and the Supreme Court. Of the judges that he has appointed, women account for 66 percent and non-white judges account for 66 percent as well. This is perhaps one of the handful of excellent steps forward Biden has made, slowly cutting away at a group of judges who don’t represent the diversity of the United States. It also means less conservative decisions and more liberal decisions based on how laws actually impact people day-to-day, rather than interpretation of how laws were meant to be enacted. This is, perhaps, an obscure issue for the typical voter, but just this single issue gives me reason to vote for a specific candidate. I don’t really care for either candidate’s general platform, but, by finding this single issue that makes me care, I have enough reason to feel obligated to vote.
We tend to criticize those who vote out of obligation, while emphasizing the importance of voting because you passionately support the platform of a candidate. But, in a democracy as diverse as ours, where candidates need to standardize their platform to attract donations, voting out of obligation due to single issues or issues that matter most to you is perfectly acceptable. If, for example, you are pro-life and this issue matters to you, then you may vote Republican despite relying on Medicare or government assistance. Single-issue voters choose their preferred candidate over a single issue that matters to them more than any other issue, and if you can locate something that matters this much to you, then you can find in yourself a reason to feel a sense of duty to vote to support the candidate who is on your side of the issue. A single reason to vote is enough.
What I’m trying to say by bringing up single-issue voting is that it really doesn’t matter if you agree with Biden or Trump on their entire platform — or even on a majority of their platform. Find the one thing, or handful of things, that you care about deeply. Choose the candidate that will be less risky to the success of your issue and just take a small amount of your time to cast a ballot. Please.
Sean Reichbach is a senior double-majoring in philosophy, politics and law and economics and is Pipe Dream’s Opinions Editor.