Why it Matters: Meghan McCain says U.S. foreign policy is what is driving her to vote

By Catherine Thorbecke

This election, "Good Morning America" asked Americans to share with us: "Why It Matters." We want to know what issues are inspiring people to head to the polls and participate in our democracy this year. Here, "The View" co-host Meghan McCain shares what matters the most to her this year.

The issue: Foreign policy

For Meghan McCain, a co-host on ABC News' "The View" and the daughter of late Sen. John McCain, the most important issue driving her to get out and vote this election cycle is our country's foreign policy and relations.

"Ronald Reagan said, 'America is a shining city on top of a hill,'" McCain told "GMA." "And I, for one, would like to keep it that way."

"Foreign policy matters to me for a lot of different reasons, number one, I am from a military family," she added. "So what happens globally, ultimately, in one way or another, impacts my brothers."

ABC via Getty Images

Senator John McCain made a special visit to "The View," Oct. 23, 2017, for his daughter Meghan McCain's birthday.

McCain said that it also matters a lot to her "that we continue to have an agenda that fights for humanitarian issues and democracy globally, and stops the spread of fascism and tyranny, and everything that's happening in Russia with Putin's global expansion."

Voting is a 'privilege,' especially when you 'see all the things women had to do to get the right'

Besides her passion for the U.S.'s foreign policy, McCain said she views voting as "a privilege," especially for women who have historically had to fight just to make their voice heard.

"As a woman, all you have to do is look at suffragists and rent the HBO movie 'Iron Jawed Angels,' and see all the things women had to do to get the right to vote," she said.

Lou Rocco/ABC

Co-host Meghan McCain on "The View," Oct. 8, 2018.

Voting is also extremely important because it gives you "control over our future," McCain said. "It's a way to push back or support the things we believe in."

"Of all the things I do in my life, voting is always a huge priority," McCain said. "It's obviously different when you come from a political family, but I think it should be required by law for everyone to vote."

"I hope that people, especially right now, feel as passionate about having their voice heard as I do," she said.