September 27 is National Voter Registration Day! So grab your laptop, Google “voter registration (your state)” and type in your information. It’s that easy. It takes no more time, or effort, to make a Facebook account. Today is not necessarily the last day to register, but deadlines are coming up depending on what state you live in.
Election Day isn’t that far off, and it is crucial to participate. Millennials constitute a larger portion of the United States population than the Baby Boomer generation, according to Pew Research Center. In other words, our generation has the ability to sway the election. Unfortunately, notes Pew, young adults usually have the lowest voter turnout rates. But we can change that, and it all starts by registering. As a young woman, it is especially important to make your voice heard. Here are the top reasons why.
1. Health
Within the last year, there have been multiple efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, an organization that provides essential services for women. When did this attack all begin? With Mike Pence, AKA Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s vice presidential candidate. In 2007, according to Vox, Pence got the ball rolling with the first bill to defund Planned Parenthood until it passed the House in 2011. Since then, the House has voted on the issue eight times. On a positive note, Trump plans for paid maternity leave. However, new mothers will only be allowed six weeks of leave.
Looking at presidential Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s Vice Presidential choice, one could speculate where Tim Kaine’s obligations lie. Nevertheless, despite being conservative on reproductive issues and sex education, according to the Washington Post, he has always voted pro-choice and voted to establish a fund for Planned Parenthood.
Furthermore, one might question Clinton, for in a 1994 interview with Newsweek, she said abortion is morally wrong, as reported by The Atlantic. Nevertheless, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund endorsed Clinton and she plans to stop the organization from being defunded. Clinton’s policy calls for the promotion of sexual education in school and 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave.
2. Higher Education
Whether you’re in college or recently graduated, you know the burden of student loans. Inside Higher Ed reports that Trump wants to change the student loan system by switching the role of lending from the government to private banks. He “think[s] it should be marketplace and market driven.”
Clinton’s plan, according to Inside Higher Ed, calls for free public college tuition for students from families making up to $85,000, and for families that earn $125,000 a year or less by 2021. She also proposes a three-month moratorium for those who borrowed federal student loans.
3. Climate Change
After Monday night’s debates, Trump’s campaign manager cleared up his thoughts on climate change. According to CNN, Trump believes climate change is a natural occurrence, not man-made. This comes after a 2012 tweet resurfaced last night on social media: “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” Business Insider reports that Trump wants to dismantle the Paris Agreement, which requires the U.S. and other nations to decrease greenhouse gas emissions.
Clinton, on the other hand, supports the agreement and acknowledges climate change as an urgent threat. Reminder: 97 percent of scientists agree climate change over the last 100 years is because of humans.
So, come November, just think: who will have your back? Who could catalyze chaos? Who has empathy?