I’m a magnet to events with young demonstrators huddled by doors of buildings they aren’t allowed in. And over the last five months, some of the most fun I’ve had is when I couldn’t get in. Instead, I’ve needed to immerse myself in the crowd, buck up and start asking some questions.

Afforded no press badge, it’s all I can do - and perhaps, exactly what MTV’s wanted us to do. Reducing us amateur journalists to nothing more than one of the crowd, tests us to meet people we otherwise might not, and spotlight different takes on the issues and election. After all, each voice matters.

This Saturday, about 300 people gathered outside of a DC hotel to protest equal voting rights - most in regard to the MI and FL primaries.  But after interviewing about eight people - I began to think about the bigger picture. What were they all saying? What did they have in common? And here’s what I came up with.

Each person, in some way shape or form, had an experience that left them, a relative or friend, feeling disenfranchised by our voting process. Whether they were turned away for not having the right ID or frustrated by the hanging Chad issue of 2000 - these people were pissed. Well, pissed - but also passionate. From a bright 17-year-old to a 35-year-old D.C. resident without a vote in Congress, each sent me the same message: this voting system is broken and we need to fix it.

Here is my video from the event that day. I hope I fairly represented the many voices I heard and in some way, inspire you to think that hey, this really does matter.