This blog post was written by Jenna Milliner-Waddell from Platform for our 2018 PowHer The Vote campaign.

The lazy millennial jokes are tired and inaccurate. We are here, we are energized, we are angry—but we are not voting, and that needs to change. A recent study by Refinery29 and CBS News revealed that 36 percent of women 18-35 are angry about the Trump administration, and an overwhelming 70 percent believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. While young women seem to feel strongly about the current political climate, only 30 percent plan on voting in the November 6 midterm elections.

Voting is a privilege, and one that should be exercised wisely by all who have it. Eligible young women voters aren’t staying home on election day because they are lazy, but because they don’t feel empowered to get out and vote. Even though over a third of young women said they are more motivated to get involved in politics, 31 percent said they aren’t voting because they aren’t interested in politics or elections and and another 30 percent don’t like the candidates. Sadly, one in five reported not feeling like their vote matters.

Your vote and your voice always matter, especially when it comes to policies and decisions that affect your body, your life and your future. Midterms are historically less popular than presidential elections, and the youth vote is consistently hard to get, but the time to show up to the polls is now. Young women have a real chance at effecting change this November. According to FiveThirtyEight, a Suffolk/USA Today poll found that almost a third of young women, age 18 to 34, would prefer voting for a woman over a man. And with a record number of women running for office this year— 256 women have qualified for the November ballot in House or Senate, according to CNN—young women will hopefully show up to the polls.

In addition to the surge of women supporting women, young women are at the center of the issues this election season. The conversation around sexual harassment, the #MeToo movement and the call for reproductive justice is informing young women’s political decisions. Young women need to realize that their decision at the polls this year will have a great impact on their future and candidates need to take that responsibility seriously.

Candidates: Know your place. Listen to young women. Know that all issues are women’s issues and we have a right to be heard.

Young women: Know your power. Without you and your vote change will not happen. If you show up on November 6 you can be the change you’ve been waiting to see.