Why Voting Matters

It's easy to forget how far we've come. 6.4 million young voters have already voted this year, and I was sure voter apathy had gone the way of the dinosaur. But then I thought back to the 2000 elections. Which really weren't so long ago.

HBO's new movie Recount, takes us back to the time when election day came and went and there wasn't a clear winner. Remember hanging and pregnant chads? Underneath all the jokes was a rather chilling reality. Recount is the story of the scheming that started before the polls had even closed, and how the voice of the people got lost in the politics.

Watching Kevin Spacey as a lawyer who champions voter rights in Florida (and watching Laura Dern-- as Katherine Harris-- trample all over them) made me remember my sense of outrage in 2000. I couldn't even vote then, and I was furious. We all learned the hard way-- when we don't exercise our right to vote, bureaucracy ends up picking our president.

Now I'm all about positive thinking-- talking about what we can do as a young voter movement is so much more powerful than talking about what threatens us. But I do think we should remember the seventh of November, 2000, as we gear up for 11/04/2008. It's important to remember what happened in Florida, and make sure it doesn't happen again.

So rather than talking about voter fraud, or voter disenfranchisement, let's talk about voter protection. What can you do to make sure your vote counts?

VOTE.

We can protect our votes by turning out en masse on Election Day. With voter turnout reaching record high levels, we are going to be a voice that can't be ignored. We're getting 2 million young voters registered to vote this year. You can join us.

Recount airs on HBO this Sunday. If you have any friends that aren't excited about this year's elections, ask them to check it out. Then make sure they go vote!