Engaging The Millennials

Since 1972, youth voter turnout has been on the decline. According to the Child Trends Databank, 50 percent of Americans aged 18 to 24 participated in the 1972 presidential election (2015). Nearly three decades later, the percentage of young adults aged 18 to 24 who voted in the 2000 presidential election had dropped eighteen

Political inactivity on the part of young Americans stems from one fundamental source -- a general cynicism of the American political process. This disdain for politics is further perpetuated by a lack of voter education and a needlessly archaic voting procedure that creates barriers to voting where they need not exist. While many of these existing problems can be rectified with relative ease through the implementation of programs such as Internet voting and better voter education, such programs create only a partial solution.

The message emerging from a recent research series on youth civic and political participation is clear: today's youth are not disjoined from associational and small political life, but they are increasingly disenchanted with formal political institutions and practices. Children and youth under 18 have made sententious strides in recent years toward fuller involvement in democratic processes. These strides,

In her article, “Higher Youth Voter Turnout Could Change Election Outcome: Pollster,” Joan Bryden argues that political leaders do very little to engage youth in upcoming elections. Currently, political leaders are focus mostly on older voters who do vote, rather than younger voters who are looking for more change. By only focusing on those who do vote, politicians fail to see how younger voters are more keen on change occurring in their society. As a result, younger voters do not understand what politicians stand for during the election. Political leaders could do more to encourage youth voters by “adopting a more helpful, can-do manner,” through face-to-face interaction and mobile technology, discussing topics of concern such as affordable housing and education, finally, communicating a clear picture of what their party stands for.

The newest generation, also known as the Millennials, has sparked one of the latest topics of debate and that is voting. Recent examples of young voters excelling political candidates have occurred with Bernie Sanders and even helped bring Barrack Obama into the presidency. These articles by The New York Times delve into the underlying cause of the low turnout rates. Most of these articles place the blame for low voter turnouts on colleges. Colleges are not to blame for these turnouts as they don’t discourage political thinking.

In conclusion, young voters need to take an active role in government in order to continue one of the founding principles of our country which is that we are an democratically elected republic who is looking out for the interest of all of its people. The problem lies not within the older generation who have high turnout rates and are concerned with supporting issues relative to their stage in life. Instead, the burden lies upon the apathetic younger generation whose unique ideals, viewpoints, and experiences are being squandered because we are not voting. It is time for young Americans to step up to the plate.

I believe that the college-age generation in America should be more active in public and political life, particularly regarding the policies of the United States Congress that concern important issues such as women’s rights, workplace discrimination, and healthcare.

2015 was an exciting year for Canada. Andrew Wiggins was named the 2015 NBA Rookie of the Year, oil prices plunged and Alberta elected an NDP government, the country hosted the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and for the first time in Canadian history, a father and his son have both been elected as Prime Minister. My paper will touch on the results of the 2015 Federal Election and how it compared to the 2011 Federal Election. It will focus mainly on how the Liberal party was able to encourage more youth to get out and vote in this past election as well as how Canada can continue to support this trend. It will include information about why it is perceived that youth don’t care about politics, how we can increase youth voter turnout, and the implications

“Young people are interested in politics, and do have faith in the democratic process. Nonetheless, the political system and the established parties and politicians that dominate it, are together failing to

An article written by a man named Daniel M. Shea brought up points regarding why there is lower turnout among young voters than those of older age groups. The author of the article is the director the Goldfarb Center of Public Affairs and Civic Engagement and a professor of government at Colby College. The main theme of the article is that there are a lot of reasons why young adults are politically apathetic and the author’s bias is that voter apathy is something that should be thought of as a concerning thing to citizens of the U.S.

The youth of America make up about a quarter of the eligible voters in the United States (Taylor), but approximately only twenty percent of those young adults actually go out and vote. Which as a result leaves only about five percent of young Americans actually voting in election and selecting candidates that they feel represent their values and social concerns. This usually low voting turnout rate of young Americans in past and present elections is a concern for the nation because it leaves young adults vastly without representation. Due to the fact that most politicians do not have to worry about appealing to young voters as result of their low levels of electoral

American youth, the demographic most important to America’s future, are often excluded from political processes and omitted from election ballots in just about every way. It is my mission as a Junior Statesman and a high school student to break this substandard negative trend, which tarnishes American democracy, by encouraging youth to become more politically active.

This brief is written for Roy Morgan Agency on behalf of the Greens party. It presents a background about young adults' disengaged attitude towards politics, particularly among the 18-25 years old group. Recent research by Australian Electoral Commission indicates that 30% of total missing electoral votes belongs to this age group. Expanding understanding about young adults' disengagement and decision-making process is vital since a major shift in the youth vote will be sufficient to change an election outcome, especially when their support for the Greens are growing. In order to gain their support, it is important to develop deeper knowledge about how young adults/first-time voters make their choices in elections and from

Back when the 2016 election was full-force, there was one candidate that drew in younger voters more than any other. He was a 76-year-old career politician. This man was Bernie Sanders, and even though my peers and good ol’ Sanders were insurmountably distant in age, he understood the political culture of the United States’ youth. He discussed issues that affected the kids of our future, such as education,

When the founding fathers drafted the Constitution their main focus was creating a nation where everyone would be free from the restraints of a controlling government and treated equal. America has always been a nation of freedom, and needs to remain that way. The youth in this country is charged with the task of ensuring that America remains the “land of the free”. Without involvement in politics this is not possible. If youth are to maintain the American ideals of freedom and equality it is imperative that they be involved in politics. Voting every four years for the president, who is more of a figure head than anything else, is simply not enough. Young people need to take a more active role in politics such as running for a political office, local or national. This is the only way they will be able to put their beliefs into action and ensure that America upholds it’s long standing values of freedom and equality. The youth need to start taking action as soon as they are old enough. However, young people need to be educated on politics and be firm in their beliefs before delving into the world of politics. In recent years the youth have shown a trend of disengagement and apathy toward political involvement. According to “The Good Citizen”, a book written by Russell J. Dalton, political analysts and politicians agree that the youth are losing interest in politics and