To the Editors:

Eighty-four years ago, as a woman, I would have been disenfranchised. One hundred and thirty-four years ago, most states prohibited people of color from voting. A mere 33 years ago, anyone under age 21 would have been excluded.

Right now, in 2004, people across the United States are restricted from voting, including non-citizens, people under age 18 and most convicted felons, including those no longer in prison. We must remember that we have the right to vote only because many people in our history dedicated their lives to securing this privilege.

This Tuesday, March 2, citizens across Ohio have an opportunity to participate in an election. For most people, voting in an election is simply an individual decision. I believe that voting should be a community responsibility.

Thousands of votes cast together can be a mighty force for change. I invite you to view your vote as one part of a larger whole. Our government will respond when enough of us demand to be involved.

I say it is not enough to show up at the polls this Tuesday. Now is the time to begin bringing the vote to the people in our communities who are discouraged from participating. We must take responsibility for our own votes and take action to ensure that all members of our community are included.

As the youngest generation of eligible voters, we must show the nation’s leaders that we are a force to be counted. In the past, our age group has overwhelmingly forfeited our vote. We have let older generations make decisions that will affect our future and our children’s futures.

According to the Census Bureau’s 2000 Current Population Survey, only 32 percent of people under 24 voted in the 2000 election. During the same election, nearly 70 percent of people over 65 participated. In Ohio, this meant that over one million people over 65 voted and less than 400,000 people under 24 contributed to electing our current president.

I challenge my fellow young voters to make our voices count. Let’s make the 2004 election a turning point for voter participation. Let the polls show record numbers of young voters, low-income voters and voters of color showing up next November to say that all of our issues are just as important as those of older, wealthy and white voters.

I urge everyone to think not only about their individual vote, but also about whose voices are being represented in our government. I want to issue a challenge to my community to empower all voters.

Get involved on a local level and make sure that people have access to voter registration forms. This spring and summer people all over the country are organizing voter registration drives to make sure that all people have access to the forms they need to register, the information they need to make a choice and a local voting precinct. I invite you to do your part. Go to the polls! Get someone else registered! Make your voice count!

—Victoria Ligon
College senior

P.S.: For information about where to register, election ballots, races and candidates and where to vote, go online to:

http://serform.sos.state.oh.us/sos/voter/index.html

You can also visit your local library or call the Elyria Board of Elections at (440) 326-5900.