Despite the importance of their voices, college students historically have low voter turnout. To gain insight on how important it is for students to vote, we spoke with Ashley Mercado, the assistant director of the Center for Civic Justice at Stony Brook.
In the auditorium of one the local high schools, I stood next to my dad inside the poll. “I don’t care who wins,” he said, looking at me. “You pick.” Nine-year-old me stood there, wide-eyed, next to my dad. I get to pick? I get to vote?