Get out and vote in the Minnesota Democratic Primary

Michael McShane
News Editor

The Minnesota Primary is next week and MNSU students who are eligible to vote should do their best to share to the rest of the country who they want to be the Democratic Party’s nominee for president. 

As cynical as many have become nowadays about voting, especially in primaries and caucuses, they really are important. It’s a cliché thing to say, but votes do matter.  

I’m not going to go about saying, “It’s your civic duty to vote?” No. It’s your decision to vote, you never should be pushed into voting. Those who are generally just vote for whoever just to get it over with. 

What I want to get to students is that the policies that these candidates are proposing have a wide range of effects that we could feel if one of them becomes president, or if a certain person remains as president. 

We’re at the stage in our lives where anything that goes on in politics influences our lives and you should vote for whoever you believe has the best policies in your eyes for you. 

If you’re a student and you’re a Democrat, I beseech you to entertain the idea that your vote counts. Even if your favorite candidate is falling behind in the pack, even if it seems the top three candidates are blowing your candidate out of the water, your vote shows that you had different ideas and you should be able to express them. 

I hate it whenever I look at the voter turnout and it somehow is worse than the last election. Voter cynicism has greatly affected students in college. My generation doesn’t place necessary importance on primaries and elections in general.  

Sure, there is some turnout from college students, but it could be so much better, and we can really help show that our demographic actually matters and that these candidates should treat us with as much importance as all the others. 

That can only happen though if you go out and vote. It’s ultimately your decision, but at the end of the day, if you didn’t vote, please don’t use the “I didn’t vote because it doesn’t mean anything”, because I can honestly say – it does. 

The primary is on March 3, so it’s quickly approaching so you have a little bit more time to decide if this primary is worth your time. 

I personally will be going to vote and I hope to see as many of my fellow MNSU students voting with me.

Header photo courtesy of Flickr.