With the midterm elections about five days away, you may be wondering why voting is even worth the time, especially with finals rapidly approaching and stress levels at their usual ninth week highs. Our generation has heard, time and time again, “voting is your civic duty,” and that “every vote counts,” but what does that really mean? And what does voting really do? Our club, CarlsVote, is aimed at answering these questions on Carleton’s campus and encouraging as many students as possible to get out and vote. Over the next few paragraphs we aim to hopefully  convince you, a skeptical voter, that voting is a great tool to express yourself and let your voice be heard.

As you all know, we live in a society. Specifically, one where we are afforded the opportunity to participate in the systems that govern us — whether it be through our vote, volunteering for a candidate or just being able to discuss the issues most important to us with our friends and family. While oftentimes the multiple ways in which the government affects our daily lives can be hidden, it is important that we recognize that the government truly affects every aspect. They affect the way we interact with the broader Northfield community from traffic stops to shops, resources and events downtown —  even our Carleton bubble is affected by the government. Nationally, the issues being debated are as important and as salient as ever: from voting, inflation, abortion and policing to how we interact with the broader global community to how we address personal freedoms in each of our states, everything about our place in the world is up for debate. If you care about how your elected officials represent you, or if you care about a diverse set of issues from education to energy policy, do some research about candidates in our area and VOTE next Tuesday, November 8.

Not only should you vote because it is the best and easiest way to have your voice heard as an American citizen, it is also important that you do so to beat St. Olaf… Again! In 2020, St. Olaf had the highest voter turnout of any college campus in the ENTIRE COUNTRY. Now, we need to beat that. The college administration recently allowed for data about voting on our campus to be compiled. This means that this will be the first election cycle where Olaf and Carleton are directly competing to see who can have the highest turnout on their campus. As we all know, Carleton is the better school… in football… in soccer… in academics… and we should be better in our civic participation as well. So do your part and get your asses out to vote come Tuesday. 

If you are nervous about voting, whether it be because it’s your first time voting or you haven’t been that engaged in politics before, don’t be! Minnesota makes it super easy to vote as a student. Even if you haven’t registered, all you have to do is go to your polling place (The church to the right of the Weitz) and show your OneCard. CarlsVote will also be doing Marches to the Polls that meet at the Bald Spot by Willis to walk over to the polls together every single hour from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. We hope to see you there! And we hope you VOTE!