With the upcoming election, many young adults are given the opportunity to use their voices in politics for the first time.

This November, the United States will be electing their 45th president. For many Americans, this will be the first election in which they have participated. Many teens now have the right to vote, but do not exercise this right because they think it’s too complicated or that their votes won’t matter. According to The Center For Information & Research On Civic Learning And Engagement, Recent studies show that 19.9 percent of 18 to 29 years olds cast ballots in the 2014 elections. The number of young voters in this election are expected to be even lower.

The registration process is not as challenging as many teens think. A potential voter will need a CA driver’s license or CA ID card number, the last 4 digits of their Social Security number, and their birthday to register online. This process should not take too long. After that, a voter application is sent to the address of the voter to be filled out and returned. After all of these steps are complete, the only thing left is casting a vote.

Many teens are not aware of absentee ballots. On the registration card, there is an option for this type of voting. If this is selected, a ballot will be sent to the voter’s house before the election. This makes the voting process easier because the voter will not have to leave their house. If more teens knew about this form of voting, it would greatly increase the participation of this age group.

”I will be voting in this election but I haven’t done any research,” said Kevin Huff, a first-time voter in this year’s election. He will be casting his vote via an absentee ballot.

Another first time voter gave a few comments on his position on the upcoming election. “I am excited to finally be able to voice my opinion in this year’s election,” said senior Kody Madore. He is familiar with most of the issues on the ballot.

Overall, it is very uncommon for young adults to vote these days. Many don’t know the what they are voting on, they don’t have the time, or they are simply not interested. These voters do not realize how big of an impact they can have on the election.