Opinion | You care about civic engagement — but will you actually vote?

Erica Lucia, junior public relations and advertising major and Ashleigh Aitken campaign worker

Despite the midterm elections being a few days away, most conversations circling around Chapman are about pop culture or campus news, rather than political discussions.

Starting with its admissions process, Chapman emphasizes developing students into responsible global citizens. Our university pushes us to achieve “anything imaginable” and be pioneers in our field by providing incredible opportunities in and out of the classroom.

Not much focus, though, is placed on the importance of eligible students voting in every election possible. I get it: We are all busy with classes, jobs, internships and maintaining social lives. But I can’t quite justify the fact that in the 2014 midterm election, only around 15 percent of registered Chapman student voters actually cast a ballot, according to a voter engagement report.

My peers are intelligent, passionate people that I believe genuinely care about what happens in major headlines. They share posts about how certain issues are appalling and how they disagree with actions taken by our political leaders. But I have to wonder — how many of them will actually vote come Nov. 6?

Parties and candidates are relying on the youth vote to turn the tide of the midterms. Recently, former President Barack Obama has aimed to appeal to young potential voters and warned of the consequences of sitting on the sidelines. More than 70 percent of young adults are likely to end up staying home on Election Day.

While this isn’t a general election with exciting presidential candidates to decide on, there are vital decisions to be made on the propositions and candidates listed on the ballot. The outcomes of this election will impact our everyday lives, beginning at the local level with who is elected to council seats.

It’s easy to feel disengaged and disenchanted with the political process. Often, party establishments prop up the same type of candidates for each election, and a lack of voter participation keeps the same faces in office without much change.

Within the past two years, though, change has occurred that is reshaping the status quo. A record-breaking number of women are running for office. We are seeing first-time candidates who have not had typical long-standing political aspirations.

One such candidate, just a city over from Chapman, is Ashleigh Aitken, who is running for the first time for mayor of Anaheim.

Aitken’s platform is characterized by a pragmatic approach to municipal politics, marked by her time as a federal prosecutor and consumer protection attorney. As a native Anaheim resident, she has both the passion and experience to lead by placing working families first on her priority list.

I chose to join her campaign because I grew tired of feeling complacent. It’s easy to complain about the current state of affairs, post a hashtag on Twitter and share a story on Facebook. But until I started knocking on doors, calling voters and speaking to residents about the importance of voting, my efforts didn’t feel tangible.

I have had incredible opportunities to speak with hard-working people who sacrificed everything to move to our country, make an honest living and become citizens who vote in every election. It’s moving to realize how sacredly some view their power to have a voice in the political process.

Too often, people bellyache about the lack of weight that their singular vote carries. These are the same people that play their one in 10 million odds of cashing in a winning lottery ticket, but don’t view civic engagement the same way.

The system operates whether or not every registered voter decides to participate. Those who are eligible all have an equal chance of having their voice be heard, something crucial to our democratic process. Former First Lady Michelle Obama touched on this recently, saying to a crowd in September: “Democracy continues with or without you.”