Student Voter Turnout

Education is a noticable factor to consider when examining voter turnout. Those who are less educated about politics and their rights don't vote because they simply don't understand the imporatance of their vote in the first place. The more interested a person is in politics obviously the more likey they are to vote. Wealthier people are connected and constantly encouraged and reminded that their vote is important by community leaders and politicians. They also feel as if they have more at stake when it comes to taxes and public services, therefore they feel they have more reasons to vote. Whereas people with lower incomes are underepresented, disappointed and feel like nothing seems to change, the rich just gets richer and the poor gets poorer. The same applies for the age difference amoungst voters. Older people are more politically invovled than the younger voters.

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

Voting has not always been as easy as it is today. It is interesting to examine how far America has progressed in its process of allowing different types of people to be able to vote. Voting was once aimed at a particular group of people, which were white males that owned their own property. Today, most people over the age of eighteen can vote, except for the mentally incompetent or people who have been convicted of major felonies in some states. The decline of voter participation has always been a debate in the public arena. According to McDonald and Popkin, it is “the most important, most familiar, most analyzed, and most conjectured trend in recent American political history (2001, 963)” The question is, how important is voter

Voter turnout is the rate by which people vote in elections. The simplest way to calculate a given election's turnout rate is to compare the actual number of voters with the voting-age population. “Voter turnout in the United States is among the worlds’ lowest.” (E.S. 371) The graph below taken from an article written for the Huffington Post in 2012, illustrates how poor United States voter turnout has been as compared to other industrialized nations. Our voter turnout

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.

“From 1972 to 2012, citizens 18-29 turned out at a rate 15 to 20 points lower than citizens 30 years older” from this data we can conclude that age is a demographic that affects voter turnout (What Affects Voter Turnout). Voting laws such as those of identification or registration impact voter turnout. For example, the introduction of early voting was meant to increase voter turnout, but has in fact decreased turnout (What Affects Voter Turnout). In response to the argument that the system lowers voter turnout rate, one should take the many other variables that contribute to turnout into account.

Factors such as competitiveness of upcoming elections and demographics play roles in determining voter turnout. Voting rates historically vary widely among states. In a given election year, many factors contribute to the number of state citizens going to the polls. In presidential elections, citizens of less competitive states go to the polls less often than in states where outcome is less certain. Election type also influences voter turnout. Fewer voters across all states turn out for primary elections and local elections. Among demographic factors, age and race influence voter turnout. Younger Americans and certain minorities, including Latin Americans and Asian-Americans, historically cast votes less frequently than older citizens,

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

Hypothesis 2: Young voters are least likely to vote when compared with their older counterparts.

“On the one hand, turnout among 16- and 17-year-olds was about 10 percentage points below overall turnout. On the other hand, 16- and 17-year-olds were more likely to vote than those aged 18 to 34. The same trend is evident elsewhere too. In Austria – the only European state with votes at 16 for national elections – this age bracket votes less than the entire population but more than the subsequent bracket.” (Alan Renwick and Barney McCay 2015). Politics as a standalone subject would encourage more participation as the combination of lessons about policy, media and up-to-date current affairs would personally relate to the individuals such as parents being fined for truancy, free school meals etc.

this low voting rate was attributed to a general lack of feeling of responsibility. As young adults age, marry, and become parents, their sense of community and responsibility increases, while their apathy toward voting decreases, (Abramson 116). Another reason for low voter turnout numbers for 18 to 24-year-olds is their generally low levels of party loyalties. Not having strong party ties decreases one's incentive to vote.

As time goes on fewer and fewer people between the ages of 18 and 24 are paying attention to government activity. Many young people do not have an active participation in government. They are unaware, unsure, and uninterested in what’s going on with today’s governing body. This is a problem considering that those people are a large part of the future of this country. To solve this issue, modifications need to be made... changes that can start right here on Trine’s campus. Students cannot be expected to vote if they do not understand how the whole process works. They need to be made more aware of the government’s actions and how it actually works. The lack of involvement could be due to a lack of knowledge and therefore a lack of participation.

“Loosely defined, democratic participation refers to the processes by which citizens influence or control those who who make major decisions affecting them”. The major indicators of voting behavior and the commonly agreed upon influences include education, income, and age. Education is an important factor because it increases political awareness and knowledge. Income is important because it open up for a greater chance of political mobilization. Lastly, age brings political experience and exposure, leading to greater participation.

1. Only 21 percent of the voting eligible population in 2014 were young adults ages 18-29 (“why student voters matter”, 2016).

As an international student, this is my first time witnessing the process of the presidential election here in the United States. Based on how people behave and converse, I have realized that it was crucial to vote in the 2016 presidential election. This year, America had two of the most controversial candidates competing for the presidency. Donald Trump ran under the Republican Party while Hillary Clinton ran under the Democratic Party. Because most people had strong feelings toward each candidate, there had been a lot of pressure to vote. As a Xavier University student, I witnessed this pressure as I saw people meeting to discuss the importance of voting, politically affiliated clubs holding forums to discuss the best strategies to influence voters, and the Student Government Association providing free shuttle rides that took students to the voting stations. This is why claims about the disengagement of young people baffle me. Many people, especially the older generation, argue that Millennials are disengaged in political activity and voting (Dalton 54). This claim is false because Millennials engage in politics through taking part in campaigns, volunteering, and are well informed on political issues. On the other hand, Millennials’ voter turnout is low because even though they try to be involved in politics, politicians do not engage them; this means that politicians are not interested in Millennials.