Marisa Willis, Seattle Times' fall letters editor, offers this sprightly appeal to voters age 18 to 30. Willis is a student journalist, soon to graduate from Western Washington University.

"It’s not Obama, so I’m not voting," is an assertion currently running rampant through the circles of 20-somethings in Seattle and the rest of King County.

The statement falsely assumes since we successfully helped elect our first black president last November, our generation no longer has to care about casting ballots — especially during non-presidential elections, like the one in our midst now.

Wrong.

What happened to the Rock the Vote campaign, steered by celebrities such as Justin Timberlake, Madonna and Leonardo DiCaprio? Did P. Diddy not tell us to either vote, or die? Apparently that threat only takes effect during presidential elections, major elections.

Well, I take offense to that. Assuming youth voters should only be pushed to rally together once every four years degrades and underestimates our generation.
In the 2008 presidential election, an estimated 23 million 18- to 29-year-olds voted, marking the second-largest turnout of youth voters in American history. More than 65 percent of those youth voted for change, and helped elect President Obama; youth voters played a pivotal role that day.

We can obviously make a difference, but we need to vote — and tell our friends to vote — to enact that change in the local elections this year.

Also, the issues facing voters in this election are important — incredibly important. Have you heard of Referendum 71, a state law to expand the benefits of same-sex and senior registered domestic partners? If you believe in families, you should approve R-71. You can only do this if you vote.

There may not be politically-motivated screen-printed T-shirts reminiscent of earlier Che Guevera or Barack Obama eras, but this election is crucial. Every voter has the opportunity to help make history.

And not knowing about the issues or candidates is no excuse — get educated. Read the countless newspaper articles, political blogs and editorial endorsements covering the election. In fact, there is an entire pamphlet dedicated to helping voters make their election decisions. It can most likely be found at the bottom of your mail pile, or in your recycling bin.

More than 3 million voters pamphlets were printed and mailed to Washington voters for the 2009 election. Don’t waste paper; put the pamphlet to good use.

Last election, voting was cool, trendy, sexy even. Though some of our current races exude less sex appeal, plenty of exciting, note-worthy events have taken place. Anti- and pro-gay rights activists have congregated on street corners seemingly once a week. An Independence Day-esque video depicting a devastated Alaskan Way Viaduct was just released on a public-disclosure request. A candidate for King County executive wants to call in the Marines if Kent Valley floods. This is exciting stuff, people.

But youth voters should not have to be coaxed or baited into voting every year. Three out of the four current mayoral or county executive candidates revealed tarnished voting records, and I know we can do better.

Local elections are important, and their outcomes impact us everyday.
So my fellow 20-somethings, dust off your voter registration cards, read up on the issues, push the crunched beer and soda cans to the side and dig up your mail-in ballot so you can exercise your rights.
Election Day is Nov. 3.

And if the above reasons don’t inspire you to get off your tail and cast your ballot, then listen to the advice my dad once said, "If you don’t vote, you don’t get to complain."
I know how much we all love to complain.

The General Election Voters' Guide is also available online at www.vote.wa.gov