Over 13.4 million people are registered to vote in the state of Texas for the upcoming election, but just how many of those registered will actually show up at the polls?
This election is one of the most important we will see in our lifetime. Either way the election goes, this is going to be a significant one, with either a black man being elected president or the nation electing their first female vice president.
One thing that is not a good representation of our generation is the number of people our age who are not registered to vote.
In a Tyler Junior College History class poll, 343 people were surveyed and 16 percent said they were not registered to vote in the 2008 election. If you use the same numbers and calculate that number across the entire TJC student body, more than 1,100 people are not registered to participate in this important election.
Registering is just half of the battle.
During the last presidential election, nearly 81 percent of registered voters nationwide actually showed up to the polls.
Election workers in every county across the state are working frantically to prepare for one of the busiest general elections ever.
“We anticipate a large voter turnout for the general election,” Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade said in a prepared statement. “My office has worked with county officials across the state, and they are definitely prepared for such an important election.”
No matter how busy the Election Day is, most voters are entering the polling station with one thing on their mind – their money.
In the TJC History Class poll, over 60 percent of those surveyed said the economy is the number one priority when making their presidential pick.
I am not trying to make the “it’s your right to vote” or “you’re un-American if you decide not to vote.” But this election has wide-reaching effects no matter which side of the aisle your candidate sits on.
There are just a few days left in this election but whoever is elected Tuesday, Nov. 4 will make decisions that will impact your finances, retirement, our family and friends in the military and our image with foreign countries.
If you don’t think the upcoming election will affect you, think again. This election will be putting a person into office that will make decisions about the availability of many student loans most students rely on to attend school everyday and make economic decisions that could impact your job.
No matter the choice on the ballot, show up to the polls either Oct. 31 for the last day of early voting or on Election Day.
Vote for our future before you have no choice but to live with the choice of others.
