Young Voters: The Epidemic of Inefficacy

In light of the recent election, the attention on millennial (ages 18-35) voters is more palpable than ever. Millennials make up 31% of the voter population, about 69.2 million people and outweigh the Silent Generation (ages 71 and up) and Gen X (ages 36-51) by about 30 and 10% respectively. This means they hold an immense amount of power in their hands. Last year’s election saw an influx of young voter turnout, with nearly half of those 69.2 million millennials making it to the polling stations

But, those numbers have not always been so high. Since 1964, the data for young voter turnout was at a steady decline. They have consistently voted at incredibly lower rates than all other age groups. There have been spikes in the participation of young adults in certain presidential elections, such as those in 1992 and 2004, but they were short lived and never surpassed those of other age groups. So, the question is why?

According to The Economist, it isn’t the often heard rhetoric of “young people are lazy”. In fact, they explain it may have nothing to do with laziness at all. Instead, they provide the claim that young people feel as though they don’t provide enough of an impact to make their vote worthwhile, also known as efficacy, or that there is not a candidate worth voting for. With more and more people searching for futures in their career rather than in their relationships, the interest in having children and owning a home has decreased. As a result, interest in places in their communities where they would see an immediate impact such as schools and hospitals has, too, decreased. Thus, young people see no reason to vote, so, they don’t.

However, in the 2016 election, there was an important difference- for the first time, essentially all millennials were eligible to vote. This prompted the presidential candidates to promote their campaigns on social media. But, despite Bernie Sanders having a clear lead against his rivals, he ultimately dropped out of the running. So, how are you supposed to win?

Dan Schawbel of Quartz lays out the guidelines to winning the millennial vote in BLANK simple steps. One, focus on issues millennials relate to, and provide real solutions to them. Two, be completely transparent and as factual as possible (who likes being lied to…). Three, engage with their hometowns and their communities. The president is many things, but to most people, the way to relate to him is viewing him as Chief Citizen. The best way to accomplish that is to come to them and reach out to their homes. Four, and maybe most importantly, get the parents on board. Millennials are mostly, although, being a millennial, I hate to admit, children still. Children will look up to their parents’ experience with voting and political engagement and take after them.

As a millennial myself, I don’t know what the real solution to depressingly low young voter turnout is. Social media, all of Schawbel’s solutions, and general education about the voting system are all viable ways to reach us, but they’re not working. The only way young voters like myself will be motivated enough to put our vote into a candidate is if we are sure the affects will be swift and palpable. A candidate who makes promises that they know are realistic and do-able will win the hearts of millennials and other age groups alike. Until then, we will just have to, as Hilary Clinton so eloquently put it, “chill”. 

Image source: http://www.freedomworks.org/

Do Young People in The U.S. Truly Disregard their Civic Responsibilities?

There is a stereotype that young people generally disregard their civic responsibilities, and we have evidence to support this claim. In a poll conducted by NBC during the Presidential election of 2008, only 38% of young people between the ages of 18-24 actually voted for one of the two major parties, whereas 49% of senior citizens (65+) made it to the polls. This gap is rather large for such an important event in our country, and should not be taken lightly, however I do not believe it is enough to warrant a stereotype for all young people. In many states, the percentage of young voters for that election was well above the national average. Roughly 48% of all Floridian’s in this age range voted for a major political party in this election, and the same demographic in Missouri had a turnout of 56%. 

Civic responsibilities go past filling out a ballot, however. Many would agree that military service is one of the most honorable ways to serve this country, and recruitment offices target demographic is young people. Looking at the two aforementioned states, Missouri and Florida, the two of them together make up for 9.7% of all recruits in 2013 according to the DoD. These states also have more recruits per thousand 18-24 year olds then most of the rest of the country. In an interview with Business Insider, Nate Christensen, a DoD spokesman, tried to pinpoint an exact reason on why some states have higher recruitment numbers, saying, “One reason might be exposure to large military bases in states where there are higher enlistment rates.” This reasoning, however, does not fully explain why these states have higher overall civic participation in the 18-24 year old age range.

Another possible reasoning could stem from the electoral college system. Battleground states, or states that are typically not assumed to lean towards one political party, always seem to decide elections, meaning that young voters in other states could feel as if their vote has no power. Similarly, citizens in states with a larger number of electoral votes will feel more obligated to go to the polls since their state accounts for a larger percentage of the nation’s votes. It is also important to note that the two aforementioned states voted differently in the presidential election, suggesting that young adult participation has nothing to do with political affiliation. In any scenario, however, the stereotype that young adults disregard civil responsibilities in our nation stems from a lack of meaningful exposure to our country’s many political outlets. I believe that more work needs to be done by politicians and Government agencies to increase exposure in all areas of responsibility in our country.

Our Electoral Engagement

The most influential act of voting for our nation is exercised through the election of the US president every four years. Things that motivate us as US citizens to vote may be beliefs, “fitting in”, campaigns, and even the idea of having an impact on one of the biggest decisions of the United States. Truthfully, when voting in the United States everyone’s vote is not even counted considering the Electoral College. So consequently, “…people think their vote makes a difference, and have this mistaken belief even though statistically it’s not the case” (Munsey). But is it important for voters to participate even though most of their votes will not truly affect the outcome of the election?

The goal of voting in the United States is to promote a general welfare in the US with a wider range of voters making decisions that will maximize this general welfare. 

When citizens vote they have a sense of personal power and satisfaction knowing they have voiced their opinion. The idea of have an expressive power to vote for someone and against someone gives the voter a feeling of “personal efficacy” on our government. There has also been shown that there are health benefits from voting.  Communities that often vote more are represented better and are given more attention. With this attention they can have a, “greater social capital, less crime, more connectiveness, better health, and better services” (Sanders). Obviously from voting there is an impact made on our government. By voting, individuals make decisions on countless factors including laws, budgets and public policy by choosing a President that do what is desired by the voter.

Unfortunately there is an immense amount of registered voters, but they do not even vote. They are less engaged in politics, and do not feel impactful in the election. They often do not know enough about the candidates to be able to cast a ballot. Most often these citizens are uninterested in the political process and do not feel the need or desire to change how our government is functioning. One excuse of non-voters is the “I’m too busy to vote,” excuse. Although it may seem that they are not even making a decision in the election, they are. They are choosing not to voice their opinion, or they made the decision that they are indifferent to who is elected.

Political science majors at Indiana University observed the youth voter outcome in the 2008 election. They created a long survey and sent it out to hundreds of IU students.  The results from the survey proved to be unexpected. 30 percent of the respondents said that they were annoyed by the activists that promote voting, but most vote anyways. Data showed that the people who register to vote in the first election after turning 18 are more likely to become lifelong voters. The young voters really felt as though they had a voice they said and that Obama was going to win if young people voted. Even though there was an increase in voting turnout for Americans under 30 they are still only at around a 53 percent voter turnout, which is shy of the rates for older voters.

An example of promoting voting for young people is “Rock the Vote.” It has registered more than five million young voters and gives information for how to register to vote and how to cast a ballot. They use popular culture and grassroots organizing to motivate and mobilize young people in the US to participate in every election. This organization is just one example of a way that young people are encouraged to participate.

It is important for young people to vote because it will show government that they want to be represented. Because older voters are the most reliable voters government does what will please them. It is not worth a politician’s time to put effort in a group of young voters that do not even participate. Government collects statistics on what age group votes more often and from this politicians are able to more effectively campaign and get votes. By having the younger voters participate they are getting the attention of government and are being more “politically effective.”

For this past presidential election between Obama and Mitt Romney voter participation was down from the 2004 and 2008 percentages.  With the voter turnout at 57.5% (CNN Wire) of registered voters participating in the election this shows that close to half do not even cast a ballot. The below infographic from Jasmin shows the turnout and how age plays a role in determining who goes to polls or not.

Overall voter participation is a statistic that can be an overwhelming eye sore to many political scientists. Although it brings a concern I believe that it is the decision of any person whether they want to vote or not, and that is their participation in an election. Many say that everyone participating in elections preserves our democracy. Yes, it does preserve our democracy, but nonvoters are just as equally exercising their right to vote by not choosing to. I am not supporting the idea of no voter participation; I simply think that because they do not vote, that ultimately is their opinion. They have no opinion on the matter at hand whether it is a presidential or senator election for example and that is their “vote”.

Voter participation will always be a touchy subject and bring questions of a true democracy or of how government is actually representing voters. Young people are a necessary voice in our democracy and if they have an opinion they need to voice it by voting. Otherwise, if they are indifferent to the election or voting they can choose to not vote, thus this being their voice in elections.

The Power of Youth

In just four short months, I will be 18 and over this past year I have been very excited that I will have to opportunity to vote in the 2012 Election this November. Being in Government and Economics class this year has really opened my eyes to want to become more aware of and more involved in our government today. Knowing that I will have the opportunity to vote has really influenced me to pay more attention and become more aware of what is going on in society today.

Over the course of this past trimester, we have covered many topics such as the Elections, Congress, the Presidency, and the Courts. The one unit that we have covered that has truly interested me is when we discussed Elections and we talked about voter participation and campaign commercials. Many would argue that the votes of young Americans don’t matter because they are inexperienced and don’t completely understand what America really wants, or needs. Even though young Americans aren’t as experienced as their elders, most people don’t understand how important the votes of young Americans really are.

One question that we were asked to think about was, “does modest voter participation in America really matter?” I believe that if people are uninformed about what is going on in our U.S. government, their votes wouldn’t do anyone any good. In other words, it would be better for them to not vote at all. If these uninformed people voted, their votes wouldn’t help us, U.S. citizens, get an accurate depiction of what the people in America actually want to see in a leader. The elite democratic model suggests that full participation is not as important as having a fair leader that the people of America who are involved in politics want. I agree completely with this model. If unmotivated and uninformed people vote in the Presidential Election this would hurt our government, not necessarily help it. However, even though this is my opinion about younger voters, I still believe that if a majority of young Americans were educated about politics then this would positively impact the result of any presidential election greatly. This is seen to have happened in the 2008 Election; approximately 2 to 3 million more young people voted than in 2004, causing the voter-participation rate to be the highest in a century. Also, in 2008, 66% of American citizens under 30 voted for President Obama making the difference between young voters and any other age group the largest since the exit polling began in the presidential election in 1972.

In order to target these young voters in the 2008 Election, President Obama clearly took advantage of the use of campaign commercials. One can infer this from watching the campaign commercial, “Yes We Can”. In this commercial there are a lot of young Americans from different backgrounds showing their support for President Obama in the 2008 Election. This probably helped lead to the agreement between all young Americans from all different backgrounds to think of “Yes We Can” with President Obama as president. I believe that this ad really helped out President Obama in 2008. I liked how the commercial “Yes We Can” had a song in because it made me believe that the country would be better with a change in the White House. Throughout this unit, it truly amazed me how a commercial or a group of people can really affect the result of a presidential election.

Over the course of this school year I have honestly and truly learned a lot. I really feel like I have grown to appreciate what the government does to help and secure America as the “land of the free”. Being in Government and Economics has helped me start to form my own opinions that I feel I will carry for the rest of my life. Being more aware and being educated about politics at a young age is very beneficial because it allows more people to know that they can make a difference in society today. After all, “children are the future” and in order to create a future that young Americans will be proud of, more involvement is necessary in the government to form America around the values that we want it to be like for the rest of our lives.

Why not vote?

Voter participation is the most important factor in elections.  After learning about this topic in Government class this trimester, I feel more compelled to discuss this important issue.  No voter participation means no votes, and without votes, the candidates cannot represent the voice of the people.  The voice of the people is how changes are made in our lives.  We as Americans, vote for the candidate of our choice because we feel that they will represent us with the best intentions.  Learning about the different aspects of the Constitution in our Government class made me realize how important it is to vote.  Voters sometimes think that their vote cannot make a difference so they choose not to vote.  However, this thought is mistakenly untrue because one vote can indeed make a difference.

Voter participation motivates individual participation in political campaigns and elections.  If one is uneducated about the election, voter participation might increase their knowledge of the issues.  In class we read, “many citizens are politically active but do not vote, and for some Americans, not voting is either a statement of contentment or a form of political protest” (148).  Citizens do have the choice to vote or not vote.  They may feel that participation in a campaign or a cause is more important than their actual vote.  Nothing is held against them if they choose not to vote, but they need to realize the mistake they could be making.  Mistakes made by choosing to not vote are more likely to be seen within younger voters.

It is common in today’s society that the majority of young voters are the least educated and have a low voter turnout rate.  Being uneducated hurts the young voters of America because they do not understand the impact they could be having on the nation.  Voter turn out is higher among people who are educated, have more money, and own their own homes.  Young voters do not always fit into these categories and that is why the voter turn out is the way it is.  Voting is a privilege that is given to all American citizens above the age of 18.  If young voters do not view voting as a privilege and they choose to ignore it, I believe that they should not have the right to vote.  Voting is a privilege that citizens are granted.  So why not take advantage of this privilege?

In conclusion, I believe that voter participation is the key to elections.  Everyone needs to participate in order to experience the Democratic process.  Voters that choose not to participate make it impossible to see the variety of political opinions.  If all the views on different issues are not heard or seen, than in my mind it could be classified as an unfair election.  I know many people will say, “Well it is ones own faults for not voting.”  I agree with this statement but I also believe that if voter participation was much grater, then voters might be surprised by how much elections could change.  Also, if one is politically active and or has the opportunity to vote and chooses not to, I feel that they are a disgrace to our great country.  All votes have an impact and make a difference.  I greatly look forward to making my own difference in America by voting once I turn 18.

Will You Rock The Vote?

Whether it’s to re-elect President Obama, or have a new president step in and take charge of our nation, it’s almost time to vote. The elections of 2012 are now only a mere 6-ish months away. For upperclassmen in high school, and newbies in college this will be the first election that we get a say in. Maybe that’s worth nothing to us, or maybe within ourselves we know our vote can make a difference, either way we are the voice of tomorrow, we are the Millennial Generation.

Age & the Issues (2008)

Voter Turnout Among 18-to-29 Year-Olds, 1992-2008

According to Pew Research 52% of the voters in 2008 were from ages 18-29, and 66% of that 52% voted for Obama. According to political scientist Daniel Shea “Issues such as climate change, the war in Iraq, gay marriage, the future of Social Security, and health care reform caught young voters’ attention… This reflects their deep concern about the critical issues at stake and the impact of this election on the country’s future.”

Websites such as Rock the Vote are created to help attract young voters, make it easier for them to register for voting, and to keep them up to date with what is going on with the elections currently. Their main mission is to “engage and build political power for young people in our country.” Over the past 21 years that it has been in action it has registered more than 5 million people to vote. According to the website “The Millennial Generation is diverse and huge in number, making up nearly 1/4 of the entire electorate in 2012.  This is both the challenge and the opportunity.  Rock the Vote is dedicated to building the political power of young people by engaging them in the electoral process, urging politicians to pay attention to issues that matter to young voters, and protecting their fundamental right to vote.  Our goal is to reinvigorate our country’s democracy and redefine citizenship for a generation in 2012 and beyond.” Websites like this are targeted towards our generation because without us their is no voice for tomorrow; without us issues will go undermined; without us the rights we want for ourselves, for our friends, for our family, and for our future generations will not happen. In order to encourage young voters to vote Rock the Vote has “Scan to Vote” shirts that have the barcodes you can scan from your phone.

Personally, I believe we need to start voting as soon as we are of age. Our votes make a huge difference because it’s when we come into government and state what we want and elections are our time to let candidates know those things. And not only that is an important fact, but if we instill involvement in politics now, we know what to face in the future and what to ask for in the future. For those of us who are going to be voting for our first time we’re going to need to know how the economy is doing, our likely hood for financial aid for college, health care reforms, environmental issues, how quickly we’ll get jobs out of college, etc. Those things won’t be in our favor if we do not stand up and “Rock the Vote” now. Since we are the voice of tomorrow we need to let the candidates know what we want. Even if you take just a quick glance over at the chart to the left, it is us young voters who seem to be more concerned with current issues, we are the ones who voice our opinions more. If we instill in ourselves to “Rock the Vote” starting now then we can pass that onto future generations and have them be more involved from a younger age.