Even with a day off of school dedicated to voting, some be tempted to spend the day catching up on some much-needed sleep, cramming for upcoming tests or trying to forget the Gamecocks' loss to Tennessee.
But Stephen Skardon, executive director of the Palmetto project, thinks you should do otherwise.
"Other than just being American citizens and having that as a civic responsibility, in my experience I’d say that you get ignored if you don’t vote," Skardon said. "They know who votes and they know who doesn’t vote, and when they see that young students vote they really do start to forget about the issues that matter to them."
But one of the Palmetto Project's programs is the SC Young Voter Initiative, which aims at increasing the participation of the state's youngest citizens by encouraging voter registration, awareness and education.
Skardon believes student loans should be enough motivation to get students out to vote. It's possible, he said, for the government to lower student loans rates to make it easier for students upon graduating, but students need to show them how important the issue is by voting.
"You’re looking at what the world’s going to be like for your spouse, for your children," Skardon said. "It does matter which one of them is in power because they all pursue their vision."
The number of young voters in South Carolina has been steadily increasing. Between 2004 and 2008, the young voter population doubled and has only continued to grow since.
"When people step up to the plate and vote, it’s a way of saying you believe in the future, you believe in what our country stands for," Skardon said. "Why would someone not vote?"