The Political Apathy Of America 's Youth

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,

Over the last few decades, we have seen a shift in voter participation, and involvement in the election arena rather it be national, state, and or local levels. According to Time Magazine, 2014 mid-terms voter turnout was at a 72 year low. At only 36.4% of U.S, eligible voters voted in 2014 mid-terms, down from 40.9% that voted in 2010 mid-terms. Analyst views the decline as the “millennial generation” coming into effect, which clearly indicates the age group (18-33) seems to have a significantly lower turnout rate compare to the older age groups. With less participation in state and local elections, we now face decisions such as elections in South Carolina being cancelled if the incumbent as no challenge, according to Cindi Scoppe associate editor at “The State”. This doesn’t provide ample explanation considering that the mid-terms elections do in fact represent a significant portion of state-level elections, which ultimately allows individuals to experience policies being implemented at a much greater effect. So the questions arise are we happy with single file candidates ascending to the elected office with no election? Is it the lack of interest or it doesn’t matter who’s in the seat? What does this say about the public responsibility for electing these people as our representatives to make decisions that impact our daily lives?

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.

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

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of people between the ages of 18 and 24 that have voted in presidential elections are steadily lower than any other age group (Johnston). What is it about the college age group that has lead to a decrease in their involvement of elections? For Orange is the New Black actress Natasha Lyonne, 37 years old, she is drawn to the polls because of the issue of prison reform (Johnston). This is only one of many examples of the older generation having a personal connection to an issue that drives them to research candidates, fill out the registration forms, and vote. It is because of the college students’ lack of a connection to the issues addressed in elections that has led to low voting rates. To resolve this predicament, a class should be institutionalized at all colleges. For example, there is a class called GOA currently at Xavier University and it is mandatory for all first-year students. It informs students about topics that are not taught in school.

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

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

In particular, the disengagement of young Canadians from politics as a whole is concern as Young Canadians tend not to vote. This makes sense because young Canadians are typically in a relatively “care free” stage of life. (CRIC, 2001, p. 20) Therefore they do not see how elections could affect their interests or lives. However, the reason of disinterest or lack of motivation is not limited to young people, but true to people of all ages. In fact, after the 2011 election, a poll revealed that 30% of participants cited that they were uninterested in voting. (“Federal Election,” 2011) Though the older a person is the less likely they are to cite this as the main reason why they do not vote. This lack of motivation that people have towards politics is directly related to the lack in interest towards politics. If a person does not have an interest in something, then they do not go out of their way to seek out more information about it. Thus do not become educated or realize the importance of voting to their lives and democracy. This lack of education points to a decline in the importance that politics plays in people’s everyday lives. Canadians have become complacent, and their complacency leads them to the belief that their vote will not count towards making a difference. People are more likely to vote if they believe that their vote counts. (CRIC, 2001, p. 7) However, there are those who

According to The Economist, a print and online publication offering news in business, finance and politics, only 24 percent of millennials, ages 18 to 29, took to the polls in 2010 during midterm elections. Meanwhile, a significantly larger 51 percent of Americans ages 30 and older voted. In 2012, as well as the 2016 Presidential Election, millennials made up an even smaller portion of voters at 19% (Mosendz, 2016). These and many other polls show that it

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,

In the writing by Briggs (Young People and Political Participation: Teen Players) she notes that “social media are a critical new space for political discourse and engagement, which political institutions cannot afford to neglect” as the younger audiences use social media, and the people they follow as a guide it seemed vital that modern day politics has to infiltrate social media formats. This can be utilised by politicians and their agenda to widen the scope of their message. In the Praeger Handbook of Political Campaigning in the United States, Benoit investigates how successful an organised strategy using new media to win an election can be for political candidates. He states that “the innovative use of new media contributed to President Barack Obama's presidential campaign win in 2008” (Benoit, 2016). Obama's presidential campaign was one of the first to set the standard for political strategy online. The literature talks about the expansion of the internet and how that has provided a suitable platform for political agendas to grow exponentially. With the focus of the research project highlighting the specific use of social media it is important to reflect on the initial stages of online political campaigning, and to understand how Trump has cultivated this style of political

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