The old saying is “if you don’t vote, the other person’s vote counts twice.”

No matter who’s president, what party you identify with, or how old you are it’s always important to vote. As of now, most people who are eligible to vote don’t. NPR figured that only about 6 in 10 eligible voters cast ballots in 2016. That’s only 60 percent. The United States is one of the worst developed countries when it comes to voter turnout, but why?

Registration is a hassle for Americans. In other developed nations, if you’re a citizen, voter registration is automatic. To register, Americans must go to a federal building, such as a library or a government office, then fill out paperwork. A 2012 Pew Research Center study reported that 51 million citizens — nearly one-in-four eligible to vote — had not registered. A GCHS senior, who has decided to stay unnamed, and has recently turned 18, says that he has not registered to vote because he feels that his voice doesn’t matter. In many states, Republican governors decided to make a law that restricts college students from using their university-given IDs because they no longer allow them as a valid form of identification even though most universities are federally funded.

People shouldn’t have to provide any identification because they prove who they are when they register to vote. Some people are lazy and just don’t feel like voting, others who want to cannot because ID that should be valid isn’t even though it was in the past. No matter how what’s stopping people from voting, it’s not a good enough reason, voting is another freedom we’ve been given and to waste that opportunity is the most un-American things I can think of. No matter how old you are, where you come from, or your creed go out during these midterms and vote!