Voting season is here. 

The big question going around is – did you register to vote?

With Election Day just around the corner on Nov. 5, constituents nationwide are predicted to show up in their greatest numbers: around an average of 50% to 60%. 

However, even with this massive turnout, there has been a deficiency in the number of registered youth voters in previous election cycles.

“Youth numbers are low,” Government teacher Rod McCall said. “People between 18 and 25 have the lowest voter turnout and have since they were given the right to vote in 1971 with the 26th Amendment.” 

McCall said young people in the area have impacted the elections in Fort Worth, Texas, concerning polling stations that he said might change the current low youth voter turnout for the better this election cycle.

“I saw in the news, in Fort Worth, it was college kids who were challenging the notion of closing polling stations,” McCall said. “It was not the adults. It wasn’t the older folks that go and vote. It was college students.”

Collin County Republican Party chairman Shelby Williams said he predicts a low number of youth voters this year, despite this incident.

“Historically, every election cycle, there’s a lot of noise around driving out the youth vote,” Williams said. “Overwhelmingly, the youth don’t show up to vote: 10- to at most 20-percent voter turnout.”

Behind his prediction, Williams said there is a common but overlooked reason when it comes to the younger generation.

“People think that their vote doesn’t make a difference,” Williams said. “They think I’m just one vote, and in a presidential election here, a hundred million people are going to vote. So, what does one vote matter? Which taken in isolation, that’s true. But if 30 million people have that mindset, that matters in aggregate.”

Williams said his family changed his mindset about voting.

“Nothing promotes responsibility and action within you than having someone else to be responsible for,” Williams said. “Children change everything. I have three daughters. (They have) changed everything in a wonderful, positive way. You look at things from a different lens once you assume those responsibilities.” 

Collin County Democratic Party chairwoman Sheena King said she is more optimistic about the youth showing up at the polls, considering that this election is going to be pivotal for their future.

“We expect a huge youth turnout,” King said. “We are doing so many strategic things to make sure that we engage with our youth. We know that all of the issues that are important to the youth are on the ballot this year.”

King said she looks back on an experience she had in her childhood that influenced her views on government and voting. 

“One of my favorite classes was actually civics in third grade, and I just remember that to this day,” she said. “There was a cartoon back in the day, Schoolhouse Rock, and it’s so vitally important that our young generation understand that every single thing that impacts them, every single thing that they care about is controlled somehow by the political landscape.”

AP Government teacher Scott Nichols said he thinks the youth turnout will be high this year.

“In my government classes, they seem to be much more interested in previous years,” Nichols said. “I would attribute that to social media, probably.”

Nichols mentioned the current political climate to back up his claim.

“I think that having older candidates doesn’t necessarily appeal to younger people,” Nichols said. “So, I think that that’s driving a lot of the interest in some of the policies that are out there and getting them involved in the discussion.”

This means that according to Williams, it is up to the younger generations to decide how they want their future to look.

“It’s kind of cliché to say the youth are our future, but it’s always true,” Williams said. “And, the earlier young people take an interest in political affairs and government, then the better off you all will be to shepherd along a new generation of policy. And, something I’ve said for a long time is that if you’re not informed and engaged, then you allow government to be something that happens to you.”

King also seemed to share the same sentiment about youth participation in government.

“Well, it’s important for everyone to exercise that right to vote, but especially our youth,” King said. “You guys will inherit everything that’s happening right now. So, why not get engaged? Why not have a voice? You wouldn’t want anyone to pick your playlist so why would you want people to pick what happens in your day-to-day life?”

For senior Mara Gonzalez, although she is not eligible to vote due to not being an American citizen, she still expresses the importance of youth voting.

“Personally, I believe that youth voting is essential because often the policies that are being created now are ones that are going to affect our age group the most,” Gonzalez said. “So, it’s important to make sure we influence those decisions.”

Junior Siddarth Chanaragir said he plans to register when he turns 18.

“It’s important to get the perspective of young people,” Chanaragir said. “Because if you don’t have that, then obviously you’re not getting the full picture of what everyone wants. When I turn 18, I plan to register to vote.”

For students who don’t know where to start when registering to vote, McCall suggested starting locally.

“Work with candidates locally,” McCall said. “You don’t have to go pick a Harris or Trump campaign to work for, go with your local politics. Go with various judges, go with people running for the state legislature. Have an impact there. You don’t have to go national.”

Williams talks about some specific ways to get involved in the elections process. 

“The Collin County elections office offers voter registration,” Williams said. “In fact, the Republican Party has hosted training to create ‘Deputy Voter Registrars.’ So, anybody can come and take the classes and get certified so that they can register other people to vote. People can also register to vote when they’re getting their driver’s license.”

King said an approach that the Democratic Party is taking to make voting more accessible to students. 

“We have actually started a fellowship program with our youth here in Collin County,” King said. “The first of its kind – and we’re really just trying to engage with our youth where they are, whether it’s high school or college-age students. We’re trying to find ways that they can plug in and showcase their talents and also partner with some folks that have been experienced in the political environment.”

All across the board, the message that has been pushed forward is to go out and vote. Nichols summed up the effort this way.

“Get registered to vote,” Nichols said. “If you are 18 before the election in November, make sure you are registered to vote.”