Last weekend, during Politicon, an annual political convention in Los Angeles, a former governor, a candidate for California Secretary of State, and a group of current and former representatives shared their advice for young people voting the 2018 midterm elections.
Chris Christie, former Governor of New Jersey and 2016 presidential candidate, said it was simple, "Vote what you believe. I don't think it's any more complicated than that." He expanded on this by encouraging youth to not only vote for those they believe in, but work for them and donate to them.
Young people have historically voted at much lower rates than the rest of the population. According to United States Census data, the portion of the population aged 18-29 voted at consistently lower rates than the rest of the population. Christie acknowledged this, saying, "Campaign consultants will tell candidates all the time: Ignore people 18-34. They don't vote."
"Believe me," Christie advised, "politicians are easy creatures to understand. We pay attention to the people who vote."
Mark Meuser, who is a Republican candidate for California Secretary of State had simple advice, "Vote. Vote. Vote." Similar to Christie, he alluded to youth's low voter turnout and offered young voters a solution to "the number one obstacle that anybody has to voting," which he described as not having enough time to research the candidates.
"My number one [piece of] advice is," Meuser told us, "write down who you are supporting and then give it to [your friends]." He suggested that they share this list via social media, text, and email. By doing this, youth can capitalize on their small spheres of influence, encourage others to vote, and have conversations about the elections and candidates.
We also posed the question to several current and former congressional representatives. Patrick Murphy, a Democrat who represented Florida's 18th District in Congress, also had simple advice. "Care," Murphy told the audience. "Care about it. Find the issues that are impacting other students…issues that are going to affect you immediately in your life."
David Jolly, a former Republican, now independent, who represented Florida's 13th District in Congress, added on to Murphy's recommendation, saying, "For every college student today, your involvement in this next cycle matters perhaps more than you'll ever know."
Jolly cited the regrets of Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting earlier this year, as a lesson for college students. "One thing Fred said, was that he regrets not getting more involved until he lost his daughter," Jolly told us.
Americans will vote for the 2018 United States midterm elections on Tuesday, November 6. Californians can find their polling place on the California Secretary of State Website.