The Edit: Are You Turning Out To Vote?

Plus: A voter guide. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, November 6, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( George Wylesol It’s Easy to Feel Cynical About the Midterms. Will We Still Turn Out? [Nushrat Rahman] Nushrat Rahman Contributor to The Edit At 22 years old, today will be the third time I’ve voted since I turned 18. The 2016 election was the first major race I voted in. I went into it feeling excited. I left filled with anger, and if I’m being honest, a brief, yet heavy, spell of disillusionment. I’m not alone. Twelve young adults[ spoke to New York magazine]( about why they probably won’t be voting on Tuesday, with reasons ranging from hopelessness to not having stamps to send in an absentee ballot. We know that young people make up [a large chunk of the electorate]( yet [historically we have a low turnout]( rate during midterms. A [poll]( by Harvard Kennedy School found with 40 percent of young Americans said that they will “definitely vote” in the 2018 midterms, compared with the 26 percent who had the same response [in 2014](. So the power is in our hands. Will we turn out? I spoke with several peers from across the country, including my fellow Edit contributor Ebony Miranda, about how they are feeling going into the midterms today. Here’s what they had to say: Do you think it’s important for young people to vote? Adrianna Jereb, 22, recent graduate of Macalester College of St. Paul: The more I think about this question, the harder it is to answer. I believe it’s important to vote, but I know the system is imperfect and that’s discouraging. Rachel Tuggle, 21, senior at Louisiana State University: I’m a coastal environmental science major and I recently came to a realization: I can spend my entire life researching, but if there’s not a way to implement policies based on that science, then what good does it do? Brendan Marks, 23, Charlotte, N.C.: Throughout history, young people have been the people to spark revolutions or force change. It’s almost like a nonnegotiable. We may be young, but we’re not irrelevant. Do you feel like your voice and your vote matters, when it comes to politics? Brendan: When you vote for someone and they lose, it’s easy to feel like your voice wasn’t heard and nothing matters. There was a [shooting at aÂ]( school]( near me last week where a student died. Knowing that I voted for a candidate I felt could have prevented that left me with a conflicting sense of emotions. It’s easy to feel like your vote didn’t matter, so why bother voting again? Ebony Miranda, 25, Seattle: I do want to pick the right people to represent me in D.C., but I tend to focus on the initiatives that are happening in my city and how they’re going to affect the people that I work and advocate for. Have you ever felt apathetic about the whole process? How did you navigate those feelings? Ken Narita, 21, junior at Wayne State University: My dad’s Japanese and I grew up back and forth between the United States and Japan. When I was younger, my mom was pretty political, but I never felt a strong connection to it. When I turned 18, not many of my friends were into it either. Sometimes it just feels like the discourse has gotten so crazy that there’s really no good choice. Seeing what was going on in the debates in the 2016 election made me not want to vote. But I’ve gotten into state politics a little bit more since then. People at my university really pushed me to register and vote. Rachel: I remember watching the 2016 election results come in and just feeling a sense of dread. I felt like there was nothing I could do. And even though it was a temporary feeling, it stuck with me. Adrianna Jereb: I’m white and I grew up in a fairly rural area where we didn’t talk about race, immigration, sexism or climate change. I think leaving for college and witnessing the current political climate has taught me a lot about the reality of American politics and the country in general. Disillusionment is painful. Moments like Trump’s election and Kavanaugh’s confirmation are painful because I see my country making terrible choices and I can’t do anything about it. Why do you think some young voters are disillusioned by the idea of voting? Why do you think they may steer away from it? Rachel: I think one thing is that we have so much anxiety and worries besides voting. A lot of us are in debt. I know for some people it’s like, “I can’t worry about voting.” They’re in survival mode. Keegan Moran, 27, senior at Arizona State University: Voting hasn’t always been easy or accessible. We need more polling stations, easier registration and better awareness about early and absentee voting. Brendan: I’ve seen plenty of memes on social media joking about how much my generation has aged since the last election. I feel like a lot of them really capture how a lot of young people feel about the midterms. Ebony: People in Gen Z grew up during the Obama era when a lot of good strides were made for social justice. To see all that work almost completely swept from under you at such a transformative age can make you feel like your vote doesn’t really matter anymore or that you don’t have much of a say. That context is pretty important, but I hope it doesn’t keep us away from voting today. These interviews have been condensed and edited. ADVERTISEMENT HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [the edit@nytimes.com](mailto:theedit@nytimes.com?subject=The%20Edit%20Newsletter%20Feedback). LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. What We’re Reading [Voters waited in line for the polls at Middle Acres Middle School in Albany, Ga., on Tuesday.]( Ruth Fremson/The New York Times [Election Day 2018: Voters Head to the Polls, and America Waits for Answers]( By THE NEW YORK TIMES Republican Party officials began Tuesday guardedly hopeful about keeping control of the Senate but girding for losses in the House. [A voter in Kansas City, Kan., in August. In 2016, several false rumors cropped up around behavior at polling stations.]( Katie Currid for The New York Times [6 Types of Misinformation to Beware Of on Election Day. (And What to Do if You Spot Them.)]( By KEVIN ROOSE Be careful of rumors and hoaxes about the voting and polling places. Here are some tips for spotting and avoiding false information.  [What Time Will the Polls Close?]( By ASTEAD W. HERNDON AND JUGAL K. PATEL An hour-by-hour mapped guide to the races at stake in the midterm elections across the country. Illustration by Tyler Comrie; Photographs provided by contributors [Riled Up and Ready to Vote]( By RACHEL L. HARRIS AND LISA TARCHAK Young voters discuss the issues motivating them this year. Erik Blad [13 Questions About Women and the Midterms]( By SUSAN CHIRA The 2018 election season has raised new questions about gender and power that could affect the outcome Tuesday for the record numbers of women seeking office. Here are a few of those questions that might reshape conventional wisdom about women and politics. [Voting can be overwhelming, but many states and nonprofits provide sample ballots so voters can prepare ahead of time.]( Chet Strange for The New York Times [Voter Guide: How, When and Where to Vote on Tuesday]( By NIRAJ CHOKSHI A national patchwork of laws and practices can make voting feel complicated. Here’s how to prepare. We’ve got more newsletters! You might like Race/Related.  Join our journalists in a conversation on race in America. [Sign up for the Race/Related newsletter](.  ADVERTISEMENT Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »]( | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's The Edit newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2018 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018