The topic of voting often loses its popularity after election season. November passes and people step down off their soapboxes and stop preaching about the importance of voter turnout and “using your voice.”
But at the end of the day, you would be hard-pressed to find someone who thought voting should be taken lightly. Bradley’s decision to form a Civic Engagement Committee, with the goal of getting students to register to vote earlier this semester, is a step in the right direction.
This committee has the goal of getting 2,000 new Bradley students registered to vote by November 2018 – and just like voting, the committee should be taken seriously.
The fact of the matter is that voting – or not voting – can have significant impact on the lives of voters. It can be as simple as choosing who will sit on Bradley’s Student Senate, or it could be for a matter that impacts the lives of individuals across the country.
For example, this academic year, some Bradley students were greatly affected when they weren’t able to receive their Monetary Award Program (MAP) grant in time due to Illinois budget woes.
This issue is something that can be improved by electing responsible candidates into office, candidates who can keep the welfare of their constituents in mind. However, electing these candidates requires active participation in the voting process.
In November 2016, the Bradley campus reacted to the election of current president Donald Trump, with students expressing how they were upset over Trump’s victory. But, perhaps this dissonance could have been avoided if the voter turnout for the election reflected more participation.
There was only a 36.95 percent voter turnout in the third precinct of Peoria for the 2016 election, according to a report published in the Peoria Journal Star. That staggeringly low figure should certainly motivate students to act.
Voting isn’t just a right – it’s a privilege many around the world do not have. It’s not just a game adults play, either. How can so many of us take that for granted and ignore an election?
The Scout is excited to see what the new Civic Engagement Committee accomplishes and we’d like to see something similar to what Northwestern University has done, such as setting up a voter registration table at move-in day or at the annual activities fairs.
But just as we’d like to see where the committee goes, we’d also like to see our peers hold themselves accountable for the future and get out to register and vote. Democracy isn’t passive – and we shouldn’t be, either.
