The recent midterm elections opened the door for the much-needed conversation among millennials and raised the question: do our votes count?

Maybe you’re a millennial who participated in the 2018 midterm elections. Perhaps there have been particular issues you’ve been interested in that only your local representatives would be able to help solve for you. Perhaps you weren’t too aware of the issues but voted anyway to contribute to your community. Or maybe you didn’t vote at all. Whichever side of the spectrum you’re on, there’s no denying that many of you left the polls or sat at home wondering if votes truly make a difference. The results of the midterm elections perfectly illustrate the impact voting has.

The aftermath of the midterm elections resulted in a shift of the balance of power in the House of Representatives from Republican to Democratic. So how exactly did millennials contribute to this shift? Based on data collected by the Washington Post and the Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES), all age groups voted more Democratic than they had in the 2016 presidential election. The data also shows that, in particular, voters ages 18 to 29-years-old voted Democrat over Republican by a 2-to-1 margin.

Topics such as gun reform, healthcare, education, and the effects of the recession were enough to get young voters to the polls on this past November 6.

The controversy surrounding the race for governor of Georgia also illustrates the impact of voting. Aside from the issue surrounding voter suppression in select Georgia counties, Republican candidate Brian Kemp has taken the lead in the race for governor with 50% (1,978, 171) of votes against Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams with 49% (1,923,194) of votes.

The race has not been a blow-out, with the race for governor neck and neck. The close proximity of votes between the two candidates showcases just the type of turn out voting can have and that every vote in fact counts.

By: Chantelle Polite

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