Youtube Star Ingrid Nilsen Explains Why Young People "Hold the Power to Change Our Country"

It's a common misconception that the constitution assures citizens the right to vote, but it's surprisingly not guaranteed. While there are amendments to the constitution that protect against voter discrimination by states, like the 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th Amendments, the constitution does not include a broad, affirmative right to vote. After watching this video from We the Voters, narrated by YouTube star Ingrid Nilsen, we were surprised to learn just how unprotected our ability to vote is.

Alexander Keyssar, who is interviewed in the video and who wrote a book called The Right to Vote, dismisses the idea that we are legally entitled to vote right off the bat. "The constitution does not contain any explicit and affirmative guarantee of the right to vote," Keyssar said. "It's simply not in there." Essentially, the only way all of the states would ratify the constitution was if voting rights were determined by state — which is why states have been able to introduce restrictive voting laws.

We also spoke with Nilsen about her involvement with We the Voters and her interest in politics. "What I loved about We the Voters is that all of these short films break everything down," Nilsen told POPSUGAR. "They do it in such a fun way, and most of these things can learned in under five minutes." Admittedly, voting and politics can be daunting, but We the Voters translates the complexities so that the facts are digestible. Nilsen believes that projects like We the Voters encourage young people to learn about their environments and feel empowered to vote.

Nilsen herself was surprised to learn facts about voting in the process of making the video. "You hear so many people say 'It's your constitutional right to vote' when it's actually not," Nilsen said. "It's more like your civic duty."

This election is historic for many reasons: a woman leads a major political party for the first time in history and a precarious demagogue with a history of sexual misconduct leads the other party. So there's a lot at stake, as Michelle Obama has also emphasized. Nilsen hopes that this video will encourage first-time voters, but she also hopes they understand their vote matters. "I think we should really grasp and understand that we hold the power to change the direction of our country," she said.

As Election Day creeps closer, it's important to remember voting truly is a duty. A single vote, particularly from a woman, does affect the results. While it's easy to skip voting because it seems like your ballot is invaluable, Nilsen also pointed out that elections in the past have come down to just 100 votes.