The young voters in the U.S. from ages 18-24 make up half of the entire voting population, which doesn’t seem coincidental that only a little bit over half of the population isn’t voting.

As a representative democracy, voting holds a significant importance for citizens in the United States. This has me wondering why such a big number of the voters don’t participate.

Every person has an opinion and a say in who is representing our country. Voting is one of the only ways that Americans have a say in what’s going on in our country. In order to have a say in the government, citizens must vote for their representative that share the same views as them. So the voter’s opinions can be relayed in politics.

It may be harder for young teenagers to vote because the election is on a Tuesday during work/school hours. But by law, your employer has to give you time to vote.

I know that it’s a tedious process that seems unnecessary and not worth it but voting is the only say we have in our government.

At 16, I’m not allowed to vote yet but when I am able to I plan to read up on candidates and being educated enough to vote. With technology, it’s easier than ever to figure out what candidates stand for. Personally, I think that voting is a privilege that most countries don’t get and we take it for granted.

The age group that is not participating in voting are the people from ages 18-24. The generation that impacts our future neglects their civic responsibility. If you aren’t happy with the way the country is being run but by not voting you’re not making any kind of impact to try and change it.

Only 58 percent of eligible voters participated in the 2016 election, according to the U.S. Elections Project.

Every single vote counts. It may seem that everyone else is voting and it doesn’t matter if you do but it really does. If you want to learn how to vote and about some of the candidates, check out reporter Jessica Gibson’s story.