Elections aren’t just about who votes, but who doesn’t vote. And that’s especially true for young people. In fact, in 2012, voters under the age of 30 provided the margin of victory for Barack Obama in four key battleground states: Florida, Ohio, Virginia and Pennsylvania. But without those votes, Barack would have lost those states and he would have lost the election, period, end of story.
So for any of you hear who might be thinking that your one vote doesn’t really matter or that one person can’t really make a difference, consider this. Back in 2012, Barack won Pennsylvania by about 300,000 votes, which sounds like a lot. But when you break that number down, the difference between winning and losing the state was about 17 votes per precinct. I want you to take that in.
That’s how all presidential elections are – 7 votes a precinct, 30 votes a precinct. Here it was just 17. That’s the margin of difference in every presidential election. It’s going to be close.
So the fact is that each of you could swing an entire precinct and win this election for Hillary Clinton just by getting yourselves, your families, and your classmates out to vote.
But here’s the other thing. You can also swing an entire precinct for Hillary’s opponent with a protest vote or by staying home out of frustration. Because here is the truth: either Hillary Clinton or her opponent will be elected president this year, and if you vote for someone other than Hillary or if you don’t vote at all, then you are helping to elect her opponent.
And let me just say this – the stakes are far too high to take that chance. And remember, it’s not about voting for the perfect candidate. There is no such thing. In this election, it’s about making a choice between two very different candidates with very different visions for our country. So the question is: Do you want Hillary Clinton to be your president, or do you want her opponent to be your president? That is the choice in this election.
And if you’re like me and you choose Hillary, then we’ve got to get to work. We can’t take anything for granted. And you’ve got to do more than come to a rally. You’ve got to do more than be angry and just speak out about the need for change. We have to all take action to elect folks who will stand with us to make that change.
So you need to get yourself and everyone you know registered to vote today. And then you’ve got to roll up your sleeves. You’ve got to get to work knocking on doors, making phone calls, getting folks out to vote on Election Day.
Edited from remarks made in Pittsburgh on September 28.
