Political Science 298 Book Review November 6th, 2012 Danny Fitzpatrick
Is Voting For Young People?
The main point according Martin P. Wattenberg in Is Voting For Young People is that young people today do not vote during elections as much compared to other voting groups. Young people today are politically unengaged. “These state patterns of voting participation can be confirmed on the national level by the Census Bureau’s 2010 survey data. Among U.S. citizens under the age of 30 in 2010, only 24 percent reported that they voted.” (Page-188, IVYP) The low attendance of young people voting in Presidential elections indicates that young people do not care enough about politics to participate.
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One idea that Wattenberg suggests that I disagree with is that young people do not receive enough information to be politically informed. Information concerning politics has never been more available in society then it is today. When a person watches television specifically a news network, they will become politically informed. “Without reading a daily newspaper, watching the TV news, or otherwise following current events, even the best-educated people will probably not pick up much knowledge about the political world.” (Page-69, IVYP) Media on television is constantly reporting what the President or other political figures are doing. Usually the media is criticizing politicians for statements or decisions they made. The problem with the media being critical to politicians all the time is that the negative news coverage is unappealing especially to a young voter like myself. Additionally to television, many political figures including Barrack Obama use social networking as a way to reach American citizens. Social networking is practically a right of passage among youth today. Political influences are in all types of media. Any young person that uses social networking or watches television is choosing to not pay attention to politics. “It would be reading too much into such responses to say that these two-thirds of young Americans didn’t value voting; they could well have seen voting as a fundamental right or a crucial choice. Nevertheless, without a
Thousands of these young adults are politically informed, politically active and have the concerns and demands many of the people who actually vote have. However, the youth of Canada also have concerns of their own which they are unable to address substantially. People under the age of eighteen for the most part are concerned in matters much different than say an employed thirty five-year-old. The youth under eighteen still are in high school they are concerned about as a grade 10 student from Western Canada High School put "class sizes, teacher disputes, and minimum wage", (Thompson) among other things. He later goes on to state the fact that by the time he has indeed graduated and become eighteen years old, he will no longer be interested in class sizes nor teacher disputes, therefore he will not address them in his decision on who he decided to vote for. This is a very valid argument and it is also true for the most part to say that the voices of these concerned children should be heard via the vote of their parents. The government of Canada sees the parents as a voice for their children, however parents inevitably will vote in a bias towards their needs such as tax cuts. Without the availability and opportunity to vote and voice their opinions in an electoral system the youth of Canada are left to impact the political process in other ways. Thousands of youth are involved in political parties, political rallies and interest groups
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 reason why young people don't vote is so obvious that it can be found in the U.S. Constitution. The Founding Fathers, progressive and tolerant though they were, saw fit to cite age as the only limitation to holding a federal elected office. In a document that rightly stands as a model for modern liberal democracy, neither race nor gender nor religion nor creed were mentioned as being relevant to the qualifications of a representative. This only serves to emphasize the degree to which age discrimination is rooted in the American political system. From the beginning, those under 25 (the minimum age for a member of the House of Representatives) have been treated as less-than-equal citizens, so it is no surprise or coincidence that men
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 chapter one, Wattenberg discusses the declining trends of Americans who regularly read newspapers between the 1960’s and present day. This can be attributed the aging patterns among generations who frequently read newspapers as well as with the use of technology rising. Reading the newspaper is a habit that either is or is not developed by the time one reaches voting age. With this, newspapers have become an older generation’s primary source of information, however, are still the best source for political matters. Younger generations tend to be more computer literate and have grown up with television and media more accessible to them than the previous generation. These trends not only reflect in American culture, but in other countries
In the last federal election only 43 per cent of people under age 34 cast ballots, compared to 65 per cent of older voters. If social media isn’t getting young voters than the question continues of what will. Many do believe it is the schools system that didn’t encourage political movement throughout early childhood. In addition it has been proven that if something is not nurtured at a young age, the chances of it ever being put into action is doubted. Many of the families whose parents voted, the children followed and their children. Therefore, creating a clear pattern if young people didn’t start early the likely hood of them ever starting depends on their demand for change. “It used to be that researchers expected that, as young people got older, they would show up in higher numbers at the ballot box — but the ‘Life Cycle Effect’, as it’s been called, looks like it’s starting to fade. The voters that are not showing up now are not likely to show up later, either. That has dire implications for our
Media plays a huge role in today's society. Media, in its many forms, can be very persuasive and can change how people view a certain topic. The past few years, media has greatly affected how people feel about topics such as: gay rights, abortion, racism, and anything political. Depending on what site, or source you are on, media can depict the topic you research however it wants. It has been argued that there are political bias in media, which is not wrong. You can find just about anything in whichever political view you want. When talking politics, there are multiple media outlets that are party-based. Even in print, you can find just about anything in favor of what you believe if you look for it. Media does a fantastic job of manipulating people to believe certain things without the audience realizing it. The media provides constant information about politics, and in more times than not, political rather than professional. In this lesson, we learned about liberals and conservatives and how political parties can be affected through media bias and public opinion.
As politics and government becomes more complex and involved, more effort is required to keep up with and understand it. As a result, many Americans have lost touch with current events and happenings. Therefore, when election time rolls around, many people lack enough information to develop an educated opinion and support a candidate with their vote, so they just do not vote at all. This lack of information is also related to the belief that one vote will not matter. People believe that their vote will not count, and are therefore following the news less and becoming out of touch with public affairs and politics (Is the System Broken?”). This lack of information is also more strongly apparent among the younger voting population. When interviewed
In our world, there are many social issues to discuss about that affect the way we live our lives. One particular issue that’s significant is the voter turnout of young people during the 2014 mid-term election. So my question is why do young people not vote as much as the old? Well I checked my sources and I discovered some intriguing facts. During the mid-term election, voter turnout was the worst ever since World War 2. It was rather disappointing and pathetic for the youth of America. People between the ages of 18-29 represented only 13 percent of the votes. On the other hand, the old were much better as people between 45-64 represented about 43 percent. Another interesting statistic is that
Before the individual referendums for Scottish independence and EU independence political interest and election turnout amongst young people was statistically low and steadily decreasing. This changed for the referendums but it is doubtful however there will be a high turnout of young people in forthcoming local and national elections. Young people tend to vote on single topics, for single issue parties and in referendums more than elections. If 16 year olds could vote more needs to be done to gain young people’s interest in politics.
Why vote? This is a major question among many young Americans today. America's youth, does not take the time to read articles, observe the news, or pay attention to presidential debates and campaigns due to their busy schedules. This creates two problems. First, young voters have little knowledge of current issues in the election. Also as a result, they are unaware of the importance of voting. Each presidential election stirs up an old controversy of whether to vote or not to vote. There are many young people who think that voting is not important; I believe that it is. By voting you are exercising your right as an American to voice your opinion, and young Americans need to become aware of this.
Exposure and encouragement of youth to be civically engaged can determine the way in which one becomes involved in political issues. However individuals may take an alternative approach to the demonstration of their political values through creative mediums and new media forms.
I beleive the youth dosnt envolve themselves in Voting much . Most of th eU.S. come from the senior citizens . I believe we as a Country , shouldn't evolve ourselves in such a inadequate matter. We need to allow voters to vote from their computers at home . The internet is a way to elevate our civil counts , in voting .
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