Tuesday, Sept. 27 is National Voter Registration Day. 

This day is so important because local, state and national organizations come together to coordinate thousands of nationwide events to bring awareness to ballot initiatives. Although, National Voter Registration Day gets so much publicity because it normally is the day most citizens in our country register to vote, the day was created to inspire more people in our country to get registered who normally would not. 

When you register to vote, you are taking a huge step for your voice to be heard. As a coordinator of Elon Votes, something I hear too often is 'my voice does not matter' or 'I do not necessarily agree with either of these candidates so I'm not going to vote.' First, I always explain to students that Elon Votes! is a nonpartisan organization; therefore, our focus is to register students no matter their political ideology. Second, I like to remind students even though during a presidential election we constantly are reminded of voting for our next president. 

There are so many other important faces on your ballot in your local. Including your local elections whereyou have such a large say in the decisions in your community. That being said, take the time to research the candidates and be an educated voter. I hate the stigma that young people want to stay away from politics because they are not well informed. 

More people in our generation are going to college than ever before. We are educated citizens and therefore, it's just taking the time to prepare and educate ourselves like we would for other aspects of our college years.

A question I get very frequently is why did I decide to become apart of Elon Votes! I think the primary — no pun intended — reason is because I am very passionate about civil rights. Many men and women have come before me and fought so hard for this right. Some men and women even sacrificed their lives for the right yet about 50 percent of young people did not vote in the last presidential election and it breaks my heart because the leaders we are choosing are not impacting our parent's futures; they are impacting our futures for the rest of our lives. 

While I was abroad this past summer, I met students who can't vote in their home countries. All they want is to have a say in their government. We, as American citizens, are lucky enough to have this privilege and we often times take it for granted. You were given this right so many others do not have. So vote. 

If you have any questions about how to get registered we will be at College Coffee Tuesday or go onto our website Elon.edu/vote or email us elonvotes@elon.edu.