Story highlights Angela Pupino: As a millennial who sat out two elections, I understand how easy it is to stay on the sidelines

But feeling "helpless" is exactly what makes voting so important, she writes

Angela Pupino is a junior at American University and the fall writing fellow for the Center for Community Change Action. The views expressed in this commentary are hers.

(CNN) I'm currently at college in Washington, D.C., so I voted with an absentee ballot in my home county in Ohio.

Angela Pupino

I'm 20 years old, so this isn't the first election I could have voted in. But my excuses for not voting since I became eligible at 18 were numerous. Going to the DMV to register was too much of a hassle. I decided that I didn't care about local elections and down-ballot races. It was too difficult to register while I was away at school. Neither of my parents had voted since before I was born, so it couldn't be that important.

I've also heard countless excuses from those not voting in this year's elections. There's the familiar reasoning about not having time to register, or the registration process being too difficult (there is some truth to this, especially in marginalized communities ).

But there are also a new set of excuses from non-voters, especially those around my age . They don't like the major candidates. Their candidate is not on the ballot. Their vote won't matter because of where they live. No candidates prioritize the issues they care about.

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As a millennial who sat out two elections, I understand just how easy it is to stay on the sidelines. I understand doubting the ability of any politician to effect meaningful change, or make any change at all, in one term. I understand nationwide disillusionment with major party nominees.