This Saskatchewan election, people aged 19-35 make up the biggest voting bloc according to Global News. This means that young voters have the chance to dramatically affect results at the polls.

Mira Cappello, a third-year education student at the University of Regina, voted in her first Saskatchewan election Oct.26. “I am a big believer in the power of youth to create change and the voices of youth to be leaders in our communities,” said Cappello.

Cappello understands the importance of voting at a young age.

“Voting is such an essential part in what maintains our democracy,” said Cappello. “I think it is really important from a young age to get involved and excited about participating in politics.”

With a lot of power to influence the results of the election, Saskatchewan’s youth have many topics they think deserve attention.

“I think there are a lot of issues that are close to young people minds this election,” said Cappello. “Health care and education are two huge issues I am focused on right now. Hospital wait times and the availability of health care officials have been put under stress with our current situation, and I think education is especially important with everything going on. I think it is important to invest in a government that cares about investing in teachers and their students.”

While many topics are being addressed by Saskatchewan’s parties, there are certain topics that youth voters feel are not being given the attention it deserves. Cappello said climate change is a topic that young voters feel passionate about but is not being discussed in the capacity it needs to by the parties.

“Climate change has been put on the backburner this year. I feel like climate change wasn’t discussed at the leader’s debate, and it needs to be addressed,” said Cappello.

Kate Persson, a first-year English major at the University of Regina, said that she also sees the environment as one of the most important topics that needs to continue to be at the forefront.

“I think a lot of young people are looking for politicians that are thinking big picture, specifically with the environment,” said Persson. “Environmental legislation is difficult to pass but having politicians that are thinking about future generations and are concerned with younger generations is important.”

Persson said it is important for young voters to make their voices heard, but the process of voting can be confusing for young people.

“I felt that the guidance for registering to vote was not entirely clear, and as a first-time voter I had to ask my family on how to do it,” said Persson. “I think making it more accessible to learn how to vote is needed.

“I know lots of my friends who are first-time voters are thinking ‘I don’t even know how to do this, should I even go and vote because I don’t know what I’m doing?’ ”

Howard Leeson, a University of Regina political science professor, spoke about the importance of youth votes in a recent interview.

“It is important because while each individual vote may seem insignificant, as we know the aggregate vote of all of us eventually determines most policies and it is a privilege and a right to vote,” said Leeson. “If you don’t exercise that right, you will eventually lose it as we know from other nation states around the world.”

Leeson said that while younger people are heavily involved socially, it doesn’t always translate to the ballot box.

“Most research indicates that young people don’t vote in the numbers that older people do,” said Leeson. “I think younger people tend not to vote because they are preoccupied with other things, not because they don’t care.

“Young people also don’t vote because they don’t think it will change anything in any degree. I think it takes a while for young people to understand that change will take a longer amount of time than they think it should.”

Cappello is hoping that other young people turn to the polls to make their voices heard.

“I feel that regardless of who you vote for, it is really important to vote this year,” said Cappello.

“If you feel passionate about a topic, and you see that being addressed by a party, then go out and vote for it. You have the power to decide who is in power and what changes get made.”