Essay on The Role of Youth in Politics

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

It seems as though the younger population of voters have all grown up in a world where they have been influenced to believe that their one vote will not make a difference, and therefore they do not bother to take the time out of their busy schedules to cast their meaningless vote. In the last presidential election, only one out of four citizens between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four casted their vote (“Is the System broken?”). The opinion that one vote will not make a difference appears to be directly respondent to the younger generation of voters. This generation needs to be educated on the difference that one vote can make.

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.

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.

In Margaret Adsett’s article on young voters in Canada, she discusses the growing problem of low youth involvement in politics. In the paper, she tries to explain why the number of young voters has gone down from 70 per cent to 40 per cent between 1970 and 2000.

Politicians should be engaging youth in upcoming elections through face-to-face interaction and the use of technology. Young voters don’t have enough awareness and knowledge about politics. By conducting outreach programs or visiting high schools and college/university campuses, would help young voters understand political platforms and will give the political leaders an opportunity to hear the concerns of young voters. For example, as post secondary students it would be encouraging to have the chance to engage with political leaders, and have a better understanding of what they represent and who we feel best represents us as Canadian citizens.

I belive that before se set out to make major changes to the voter laws, such as changing the voter age requirment, new programes should be rolled out in an attempt to increase younger voter turnout fist. For example, use of social media to target younger voters. More political ingagment with a younger age group would help build on itself as polititions engage and take up issues that matter to yonger voters, thus incressing young voter turnout, and thus raising the value of younger voters to polititions seeking ideas and votes to be elected or re-elected. a prime example is how effective it was for Bill Clintons campaign during the 90's when he appealed to young voters by going on "MTV."

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.

“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

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.

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,