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Oct 30, 2018 By Moby Moby

In the 2014 midterm elections just 37% of eligible voters turned out, making it the lowest midterm turnout in 70 years. After months of campaigning, the 2018 midterms are finally next Tuesday (November 6). For those who stand against President Trump, this is a crucial election (equally so for those who stand with him). It could be the most important midterm elections in a generation or more. To help motivate our American readers to get out to the voting booth next week, we’ve asked some notable musicians to share words of encouragement. In this piece, Moby writes plainly about why you need to vote next week. The iconic musician released a new album, Everything Was Beautiful, And Nothing Hurt, back in March via Mute.

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“Why vote?” is as legitimate a question as “why call the fire department when your house is on fire?” or “why make an effort to get rid of a bed bug infestation?”

The truth is that “why vote?” should never even be a question.

The only voting questions should be: “Where are you voting?” “When are you voting?” “For whom are you voting?” “What are you wearing while you vote?”

See, our world, for better or usually worse, is run by politicians. And politicians are elected. By you. And me. Or, based on percentages from the last midterm elections, by old white racists.

See, and this should be egregiously self-evident, politics affects everything. Literally everything. The air you breathe, the water you drink, who you can marry, the food you eat, the jails you’re sent to (and why), the debts you pay, the healthcare you have access to, the streetlights that light your sidewalk, the wars waged on your behalf, and on and on.

And if you choose to not vote, you have to understand: many other people are choosing TO vote. And, as established earlier, a lot of those people do not share your worldview.
In the 2014 midterms, 23% of people between the ages of 18-26 voted, whereas 76% of people over the age of 65 voted.

So, simply, if you don’t vote, you’re handing every single issue you care about over to people over the age of 65. Do they care about climate change? Do they care about student debt? Do they care about a healthy environment? Do they care about gun control? Do they care about same sex marriage? Do they care about a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions? Based on who they voted for in 2014 and 2016, the answer is a resounding NO.

Every now and then I hear a deeply ignorant person say, “but voting doesn’t matter.”
Here’s the thing: IT DOES. Especially in the midterms as many midterm elections will be decided by a handful of votes. Empirical, quantifiable proof that voting matters: there have been congressional elections decided by LESS THAN 10 VOTES.

So, to state the obvious; water is wet, climate change is real, the Earth is round, and YOU NEED TO VOTE.

Find your polling place here.

www.moby.com

You can also read our 2016 interview with Moby about the last Presidential election.

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